Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Independence, Kansas - 5 schools
An equity score of 50/100 ranks Independence #130 of 250 districts in Kansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,179 per pupil, Independence ranks #253 of 285 Kansas districts by per-pupil spending (Kansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,059
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,179
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Independence operates 5 public schools serving 2,059 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Kansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Montgomery County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,179 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 285 Kansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 19.8% local, 71.5% state, and 8.7% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 50/100, ranked #130 of 250 in Kansas 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 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (5 AP courses district-wide), a 285.5:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 17.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 67.5% White, 15.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Eisenhower Elem, with a diversity index of 55.7/100.
Its largest campus is Independence Sr High, enrolling 550 students (34% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Bridges Academy, at 24 students, a 23x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Independence Sr High accounts for 26.7% of all Independence student enrollment
That concentration means Independence-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Independence school enrollment varies 23× across entities
Independence school enrollment ranges from 24 students (lowest) to 550 students (highest), a spread of 526 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Independence has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 60.9% 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 student-counselor ratio is 286:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Independence is typically wider than the Independence-aggregate figure suggests.
Independence chronic absenteeism rate is 17.9% — 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 is typically wider than the Independence-aggregate figure suggests.