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Liberal, Kansas - 8 schools
An equity score of 48/100 ranks Liberal #137 of 250 districts in Kansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,495 per pupil, Liberal ranks #242 of 285 Kansas districts by per-pupil spending (Kansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,659
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$12,495
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Liberal operates 8 public schools serving 4,659 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Kansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high, 1 combined 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 Seward County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,495 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 14.3% local, 75.9% state, and 9.8% 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 48/100, ranked #137 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 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (7 AP courses district-wide), a 448.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 41.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 87.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% White, 1.2% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Macarthur Elementary School, with a diversity index of 35.9/100.
Its largest campus is Liberal Sr High, enrolling 1,421 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Meadowlark Elementary School, at 362 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Liberal Sr High accounts for 30.5% of all Liberal student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Liberal-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.
Liberal school enrollment varies 3.9× across entities
Liberal school enrollment ranges from 362 students (lowest) to 1,421 students (highest), a spread of 1,059 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.
Liberal has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 70.6% 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.
Liberal student-counselor ratio is 448:1 — 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.
Liberal chronic absenteeism rate is 41.1% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Liberal has 8 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 2 middle, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 4,659 students.
How much does Liberal spend per student?
Liberal spends $12,495 per student. The district has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #137 in Kansas.
What is the demographic composition of Liberal?
Liberal students are 87.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% White, 1.2% African American, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Liberal?
Liberal has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #137 out of 250 districts in Kansas.