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Liberal, Missouri - 3 schools
An equity score of 60/100 ranks Liberal R-Ii #146 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,254 per pupil, Liberal R-Ii ranks #253 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
301
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$12,254
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Liberal R-Ii operates 3 public schools serving 301 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Barton County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,254 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending. See how Missouri compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 55.8% local, 30.8% state, and 13.4% 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 60/100, ranked #146 of 432 in Missouri against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 279.7:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 15.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 95.5% White, 1.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Liberal Middle, with a diversity index of 13.0/100.
Its largest campus is Liberal Elem., enrolling 116 students (43% of the district's total enrollment).
Liberal Elem. accounts for 38.5% of all Liberal R-Ii student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Liberal R-Ii-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.
Liberal R-Ii student-counselor ratio is 280:1 — 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 Liberal R-Ii is typically wider than the Liberal R-Ii-aggregate figure suggests.
Liberal R-Ii chronic absenteeism rate is 15.1% — 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 Liberal R-Ii is typically wider than the Liberal R-Ii-aggregate figure suggests.