Mercer County Special Services School District

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.

Hamilton, New Jersey - 4 schools

126
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
-
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Elementary
School Types

District-Level NCES Analysis

Mercer County Special Services School District operates 4 public schools serving 126 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New Jersey. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 high, 1 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 Mercer County.

The funding mix is 81.3% local, 16.0% state, and 2.7% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers.

a 39:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, . Demographically, the student body averages 40.4% African American, 35.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mercer High School, with a diversity index of 70.0/100.

Its largest campus is Mercer High School, enrolling 200 students (46% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Regional Day School, at 1 students, a 200x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.

Mercer High School accounts for 45.6% of all Mercer County Special Services School District student enrollment

That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Mercer County Special Services School District a distant remainder — means Mercer County Special Services School District-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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Mercer County Special Services School District school enrollment varies 200× across entities

Mercer County Special Services School District school enrollment ranges from 1 students (lowest) to 200 students (highest), a spread of 199 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Mercer County Special Services School District student-counselor ratio is 39:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)

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 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.

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection NCES Civil Rights Data Collection

Where does the funding come from?

2.7%
Federal
16.0%
State
81.3%
Local

Student Demographics

Average demographic composition across 4 schools in Mercer County Special Services School District.

White 13.9%
Hispanic or Latino 35.0%
African American 40.4%
Asian 8.0%
Multiracial 2.6%

Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.

Student-body diversity

Average diversity index 68.1/100

Average Simpson diversity index across Mercer County Special Services School District's schools, above the New Jersey average of 51.2.

Most mixed schools

  1. 1 Mercer High School 70.0
  2. 2 Mercer Elementary School 69.0
  3. 3 Joseph F. Cappello School 65.4

Programs & Resources

39:1
Student-Counselor Ratio

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.

Schools in Mercer County Special Services School District

School Enrollment
Mercer High School
200
Mercer Elementary School
141
Joseph F. Cappello School
97
Regional Day School
1

How Mercer County Special Services School District Compares to Similar-Size Districts

The New Jersey districts closest to this one in total enrollment.

District Enrollment Spending Funding Mix
Bay Head Borough School District Similar size No spending data Similar funding mix
Ocean Gate School District Similar size No spending data Less locally funded
Stow Creek Township School District Similar size No spending data Less locally funded
Ridge and Valley Charter School Similar size No spending data Similar funding mix
Avon Boro School District Similar size No spending data Similar funding mix

Comparisons are relative to Mercer County Special Services School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.

Nearby Districts in New Jersey

Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.

Compare Mercer County Special Services School District

See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.

Compare vs Newark Public School District →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many schools are in Mercer County Special Services School District?

Mercer County Special Services School District has 4 schools, including 2 high, 1 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 126 students.

What is the demographic composition of Mercer County Special Services School District?

Mercer County Special Services School District students are 40.4% African American, 35.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% White, 8.0% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.