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Kearney, Missouri - 9 schools
An equity score of 31/100 ranks Kearney R-I #352 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,205 per pupil, Kearney R-I ranks #338 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,561
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$11,205
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Kearney R-I operates 9 public schools serving 3,561 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 3 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Clay County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,205 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 62.5% local, 31.0% state, and 6.4% 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 31/100, ranked #352 of 432 in Missouri 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 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 326.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 17.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 88.4% White, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Kearney Early Education Center, with a diversity index of 31.7/100.
Its largest campus is Kearney High, enrolling 814 students (24% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Kearney Early Education Center, at 44 students, a 19x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Kearney High accounts for 22.9% of all Kearney R-I student enrollment
That concentration means Kearney R-I-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 R-I school enrollment varies 19× across entities
Kearney R-I school enrollment ranges from 44 students (lowest) to 814 students (highest), a spread of 770 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 R-I student-counselor ratio is 326:1 — 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 Kearney R-I is typically wider than the Kearney R-I-aggregate figure suggests.
Kearney R-I chronic absenteeism rate is 17.2% — 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 R-I is typically wider than the Kearney R-I-aggregate figure suggests.