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West Salem, Ohio - 3 schools
An equity score of 41/100 ranks Northwestern Local #479 of 806 districts in Ohio (state average 46). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,367 per pupil, Northwestern Local ranks #706 of 966 Ohio districts by per-pupil spending (Ohio districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,266
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$12,367
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Northwestern Local operates 3 public schools serving 1,266 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Ohio. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 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 Wayne County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,367 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 966 Ohio districts by per-pupil spending. See how Ohio compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 44.2% local, 47.0% state, and 8.8% 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 41/100, ranked #479 of 806 in Ohio against a state average of 46, 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 (2 AP courses district-wide), a 414.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 19.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 94.2% White, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Northwestern Middle School, with a diversity index of 12.8/100.
Northwestern Elementary School accounts for 49.9% of all Northwestern Local student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Northwestern Local a distant remainder — means Northwestern Local-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.
Northwestern Local school enrollment varies 2.2× across entities
Northwestern Local school enrollment ranges from 284 students (lowest) to 632 students (highest), a spread of 348 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.
Northwestern Local student-counselor ratio is 414:1 — 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.
Northwestern Local chronic absenteeism rate is 19.9% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Northwestern Local is typically wider than the Northwestern Local-aggregate figure suggests.
Northwestern Local has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,266 students.
How much does Northwestern Local spend per student?
Northwestern Local spends $12,367 per student. The district has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #479 in Ohio.
What is the demographic composition of Northwestern Local?
Northwestern Local students are 94.2% White, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% African American, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Northwestern Local?
Northwestern Local has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #479 out of 806 districts in Ohio.