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Onalaska, Washington - 3 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Onalaska School District #177 of 238 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,290 per pupil, Onalaska School District ranks #289 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
868
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$14,290
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Onalaska School District operates 3 public schools serving 868 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Washington. 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 Lewis County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,290 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 31 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 11.3% local, 72.5% state, and 16.2% 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 #177 of 238 in Washington against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 515:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 14.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 80.4% White, 11.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Onalaska High School, with a diversity index of 35.0/100.
Its largest campus is Onalaska Elementary School, enrolling 437 students (48% of the district's total enrollment).
Onalaska Elementary School accounts for 47.9% of all Onalaska School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Onalaska School District a distant remainder — means Onalaska School District-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.
Onalaska School District school enrollment varies 2.2× across entities
Onalaska School District school enrollment ranges from 195 students (lowest) to 437 students (highest), a spread of 242 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.
Onalaska School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 51.1% 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 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.
Onalaska School District student-counselor ratio is 515:1 — 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.
Onalaska School District chronic absenteeism rate is 14.9% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Onalaska School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 868 students.
How much does Onalaska School District spend per student?
Onalaska School District spends $14,290 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #177 in Washington.
What is the demographic composition of Onalaska School District?
Onalaska School District students are 80.4% White, 11.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% African American, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Onalaska School District?
Onalaska School District has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #177 out of 238 districts in Washington.