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Stearns, Kentucky - 4 schools
An equity score of 85/100 ranks Mccreary County #10 of 171 districts in Kentucky (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,759 per pupil, Mccreary County ranks #49 of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending (Kentucky districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,715
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$13,759
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mccreary County operates 4 public schools serving 2,715 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Kentucky. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Mccreary County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,759 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kentucky compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 11.2% local, 65.0% state, and 23.8% 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 85/100, ranked #10 of 171 in Kentucky against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 398.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 45.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 95.3% White, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Pine Knot Elementary School, with a diversity index of 11.5/100.
Its largest campus is Mccreary Central High School, enrolling 711 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Mccreary Central High School accounts for 26.2% of all Mccreary County student enrollment
That concentration means Mccreary County-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.
Mccreary County school enrollment varies 2.0× across entities
Mccreary County school enrollment ranges from 352 students (lowest) to 711 students (highest), a spread of 359 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.
Mccreary County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 79.5% 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 — including this one — 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.
Mccreary County student-counselor ratio is 398:1 — 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.
Mccreary County chronic absenteeism rate is 45.2% — 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.
Mccreary County has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 2,715 students.
How much does Mccreary County spend per student?
Mccreary County spends $13,759 per student. The district has an equity score of 85/100, ranking #10 in Kentucky.
What is the demographic composition of Mccreary County?
Mccreary County students are 95.3% White, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Mccreary County?
Mccreary County has an equity score of 85/100, ranking #10 out of 171 districts in Kentucky.