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Independence, Missouri - 29 schools
An equity score of 51/100 ranks Independence 30 #206 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,956 per pupil, Independence 30 ranks #275 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
14,406
Total Enrollment
29
Schools
$11,956
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Independence 30 operates 29 public schools serving 14,406 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 21 combined, 4 middle, 3 high, 1 elementary schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Jackson County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,956 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending. See how Missouri compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.9% local, 35.3% state, and 21.8% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 51/100, ranked #206 of 432 in Missouri against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 29 schools offering Advanced Placement (18 AP courses district-wide), a 376.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 27.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 45.8% White, 26.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Randall Elem., with a diversity index of 72.7/100.
Its largest campus is Truman High, enrolling 1,720 students (12% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Sunshine Center, at 106 students, a 16x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Independence 30 school enrollment varies 16× across entities
Independence 30 school enrollment ranges from 106 students (lowest) to 1,720 students (highest), a spread of 1,614 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Independence 30 has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 58.3% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Independence 30 student-counselor ratio is 377:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Independence 30 chronic absenteeism rate is 27.4% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Independence 30 is typically wider than the Independence 30-aggregate figure suggests.