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Ruston, Louisiana - 12 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Lincoln Parish #132 of 175 districts in Louisiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,391 per pupil, Lincoln Parish ranks #87 of 188 Louisiana districts by per-pupil spending (Louisiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,839
Total Enrollment
12
Schools
$15,391
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lincoln Parish operates 12 public schools serving 5,839 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Louisiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 4 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 Lincoln Parish.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,391 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 188 Louisiana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Louisiana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 52.6% local, 33.0% state, and 14.3% 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 37/100, ranked #132 of 175 in Louisiana 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 2 of 12 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 309:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 6.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 47.2% White, 39.9% African American, 8.7% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Hillcrest Elementary School, with a diversity index of 68.5/100.
Its largest campus is Ruston High School, enrolling 1,212 students (22% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Dubach School, at 134 students, a 9x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Ruston High School accounts for 20.8% of all Lincoln Parish student enrollment
That concentration means Lincoln Parish-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.
Lincoln Parish school enrollment varies 9.0× across entities
Lincoln Parish school enrollment ranges from 134 students (lowest) to 1,212 students (highest), a spread of 1,078 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.
Lincoln Parish has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 56.8% 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.
Lincoln Parish student-counselor ratio is 309:1 — 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 Lincoln Parish is typically wider than the Lincoln Parish-aggregate figure suggests.
Lincoln Parish chronic absenteeism rate is 6.6% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Lincoln Parish has 12 schools, including 1 high, 2 middle, 4 combined, 5 elementary. Total enrollment is 5,839 students.
How much does Lincoln Parish spend per student?
Lincoln Parish spends $15,391 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #132 in Louisiana.
What is the demographic composition of Lincoln Parish?
Lincoln Parish students are 47.2% White, 39.9% African American, 8.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% Asian, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lincoln Parish?
Lincoln Parish has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #132 out of 175 districts in Louisiana.