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Palmer, Alaska - 49 schools
An equity score of 23/100 ranks Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District #37 of 40 districts in Alaska (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,171 per pupil, Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District ranks #48 of 54 Alaska districts by per-pupil spending (Alaska districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
19,705
Total Enrollment
49
Schools
$16,171
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District operates 49 public schools serving 19,705 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Alaska. The school portfolio breaks down into 31 combined, 7 high, 6 elementary, 5 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,171 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 6 of 54 Alaska districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alaska compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 22.6% local, 62.7% 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 23/100, ranked #37 of 40 in Alaska 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 10 of 49 schools offering Advanced Placement (79 AP courses district-wide), a 383.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 56.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.3% White, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Knik Charter Correspondence School, with a diversity index of 73.0/100.
Its largest campus is Mat-Su Central School, enrolling 2,780 students (14% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mat-Su Youth Facility, at 10 students, a 278x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District school enrollment varies 278× across entities
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District school enrollment ranges from 10 students (lowest) to 2,780 students (highest), a spread of 2,770 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District student-counselor ratio is 383:1 — 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.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District chronic absenteeism rate is 56.6% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Alaska
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District has 49 schools, including 31 combined, 7 high, 5 middle, 6 elementary. Total enrollment is 19,705 students.
How much does Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District spend per student?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District spends $16,171 per student. The district has an equity score of 23/100, ranking #37 in Alaska.
What is the demographic composition of Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District students are 65.3% White, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% Asian, 0.5% African American, averaged across 49 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District?
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District has an equity score of 23/100, ranking #37 out of 40 districts in Alaska.