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Kalkaska, Michigan - 5 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Kalkaska Public Schools #235 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,832 per pupil, Kalkaska Public Schools ranks #228 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,393
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$13,832
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Kalkaska Public Schools operates 5 public schools serving 1,393 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. 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 Kalkaska County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,832 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 45.2% local, 41.1% state, and 13.7% 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 57/100, ranked #235 of 707 in Michigan 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 307.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 43.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 93.4% White, 2.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Kalkaska High School, with a diversity index of 17.1/100.
Its largest campus is Birch Street Elementary School, enrolling 517 students (34% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Rapid City Elementary School, at 70 students, a 7x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Birch Street Elementary School accounts for 34.3% of all Kalkaska Public Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Kalkaska Public Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Kalkaska Public Schools school enrollment varies 7.4× across entities
Kalkaska Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 70 students (lowest) to 517 students (highest), a spread of 447 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Kalkaska Public Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.6% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Kalkaska Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 307:1 — 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 Kalkaska Public Schools is typically wider than the Kalkaska Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Kalkaska Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 43.7% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Kalkaska Public Schools has 5 schools, including 2 combined, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,393 students.
How much does Kalkaska Public Schools spend per student?
Kalkaska Public Schools spends $13,832 per student. The district has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #235 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Kalkaska Public Schools?
Kalkaska Public Schools students are 93.4% White, 2.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% African American, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Kalkaska Public Schools?
Kalkaska Public Schools has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #235 out of 707 districts in Michigan.