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Kearney, Nebraska - 14 schools
An equity score of 20/100 ranks Kearney Public Schools #190 of 200 districts in Nebraska (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,003 per pupil, Kearney Public Schools ranks #241 of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending (Nebraska districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,152
Total Enrollment
14
Schools
$11,003
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Kearney Public Schools operates 14 public schools serving 6,152 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Nebraska. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 combined, 2 middle, 1 high schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Buffalo County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,003 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 25 of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending. See how Nebraska compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 67.2% local, 22.5% state, and 10.2% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 20/100, ranked #190 of 200 in Nebraska against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 14 schools offering Advanced Placement (10 AP courses district-wide), a 391.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 16.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 75.9% White, 17.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Central Elementary School, with a diversity index of 59.2/100.
Its largest campus is Kearney High School, enrolling 1,663 students (27% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Glenwood Elementary School, at 118 students, a 14x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Kearney High School accounts for 27.0% of all Kearney Public Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Kearney Public Schools-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.
Kearney Public Schools school enrollment varies 14× across entities
Kearney Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 118 students (lowest) to 1,663 students (highest), a spread of 1,545 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.
Kearney Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 392:1 — 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.
Kearney Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 16.2% — 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 Kearney Public Schools is typically wider than the Kearney Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Kearney Public Schools has 14 schools, including 1 high, 2 middle, 11 combined. Total enrollment is 6,152 students.
How much does Kearney Public Schools spend per student?
Kearney Public Schools spends $11,003 per student. The district has an equity score of 20/100, ranking #190 in Nebraska.
What is the demographic composition of Kearney Public Schools?
Kearney Public Schools students are 75.9% White, 17.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American, 1.0% Asian, averaged across 14 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Kearney Public Schools?
Kearney Public Schools has an equity score of 20/100, ranking #190 out of 200 districts in Nebraska.