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Carlisle, Kentucky - 2 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Nicholas County #121 of 171 districts in Kentucky (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,206 per pupil, Nicholas County ranks #167 of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending (Kentucky districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,119
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$11,206
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Nicholas County operates 2 public schools serving 1,119 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Kentucky. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Nicholas County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,206 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 18 of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kentucky compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 16.0% local, 63.5% state, and 20.5% 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 37/100, ranked #121 of 171 in Kentucky against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 540:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 33.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.8% White, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American across the district's schools.
Nicholas County Elementary School accounts for 57.6% of all Nicholas County student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Nicholas County a distant remainder — means Nicholas County-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.
Nicholas County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 64.0% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Nicholas County student-counselor ratio is 540:1 — 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.
Nicholas County chronic absenteeism rate is 33.1% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Nicholas County has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 1,119 students.
How much does Nicholas County spend per student?
Nicholas County spends $11,206 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #121 in Kentucky.
What is the demographic composition of Nicholas County?
Nicholas County students are 92.8% White, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Nicholas County?
Nicholas County has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #121 out of 171 districts in Kentucky.