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.
Manistee, Michigan - 3 schools
An equity score of 50/100 ranks Manistee Area Public Schools #342 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,137 per pupil, Manistee Area Public Schools ranks #131 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,225
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$15,137
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Manistee Area Public Schools operates 3 public schools serving 1,225 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 combined 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 Manistee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,137 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 41.3% local, 40.4% state, and 18.3% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 50/100, ranked #342 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 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (10 AP courses district-wide), a 685:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 46.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.2% White, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is John F Kennedy Elem School, with a diversity index of 26.7/100.
Its largest campus is Manistee Middle High School, enrolling 685 students (55% of the district's total enrollment).
Manistee Middle High School accounts for 54.9% of all Manistee Area Public Schools student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Manistee Area Public Schools a distant remainder — means Manistee Area Public Schools-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.
Manistee Area Public Schools school enrollment varies 2.5× across entities
Manistee Area Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 270 students (lowest) to 685 students (highest), a spread of 415 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.
Manistee Area Public Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 51.8% 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.
Manistee Area Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 685:1 — 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.
Manistee Area Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 46.5% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
How many schools are in Manistee Area Public Schools?
Manistee Area Public Schools has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,225 students.
How much does Manistee Area Public Schools spend per student?
Manistee Area Public Schools spends $15,137 per student. The district has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #342 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Manistee Area Public Schools?
Manistee Area Public Schools students are 86.2% White, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% African American, 0.8% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Manistee Area Public Schools?
Manistee Area Public Schools has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #342 out of 707 districts in Michigan.