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.
Lawton, Michigan - 4 schools
An equity score of 43/100 ranks Lawton Community School District #456 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,181 per pupil, Lawton Community School District ranks #518 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,050
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$12,181
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lawton Community School District operates 4 public schools serving 1,050 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 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 Van Buren County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,181 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 27.6% local, 57.7% state, and 14.7% 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 43/100, ranked #456 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 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 574.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 26.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 76.0% White, 17.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lawton Accelerated Academic Center, with a diversity index of 49.4/100.
Its largest campus is Lawton Elementary School, enrolling 397 students (39% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Lawton Accelerated Academic Center, at 26 students, a 15x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lawton Elementary School accounts for 37.8% of all Lawton Community School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Lawton Community School District-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.
Lawton Community School District school enrollment varies 15× across entities
Lawton Community School District school enrollment ranges from 26 students (lowest) to 397 students (highest), a spread of 371 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.
Lawton Community School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 53.5% 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.
Lawton Community School District student-counselor ratio is 574:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Lawton Community School District chronic absenteeism rate is 26.9% — 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 Lawton Community School District is typically wider than the Lawton Community School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Lawton Community School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Lawton Community School District?
Lawton Community School District has 4 schools, including 3 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,050 students.
How much does Lawton Community School District spend per student?
Lawton Community School District spends $12,181 per student. The district has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #456 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Lawton Community School District?
Lawton Community School District students are 76.0% White, 17.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lawton Community School District?
Lawton Community School District has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #456 out of 707 districts in Michigan.