Ouachita Parish operates 36 public schools serving 19,136 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Louisiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 22 other, 9 middle, 4 elementary, 1 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. Aggregated across those campuses, enrollment totals 17,435 pupils using the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022-23 release, and the district is geographically located in Ouachita Parish County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,948 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, which aggregates every revenue and spending line reported under federal accounting standards. The funding mix is 38.3% local, 45.6% state, and 16.1% federal — a breakdown that matters because districts leaning heavily on local revenue are more exposed to property-tax swings, while higher federal shares typically track Title I concentration. Average teacher compensation clocks in at $61,758 per NCES F-33, a signal of the district's ability to recruit and retain staff against neighbouring districts. The district's equity score — 31/100, ranked #152 of 176 in Louisiana against a state average of 50 — measures how evenly funding reaches schools within its boundaries.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 36 schools offering Advanced Placement (23 AP courses district-wide), a 1941.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 12.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 51.1% White, 39.4% African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Ouachita Parish school enrollment varies 12× across entities
Ouachita Parish school enrollment ranges from 167 students (lowest) to 2,041 students (highest), a spread of 1,874 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Ouachita Parish has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 57.8% 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.
Ouachita Parish student-counselor ratio is 1942:1 — 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.
Ouachita Parish chronic absenteeism rate is 12.5% — 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.
Ouachita Parish has 36 schools, including 22 other, 9 middle, 1 high, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 19,136 students.
How much does Ouachita Parish spend per student?
Ouachita Parish spends $13,948 per student. The district has an equity score of 31/100, ranking #152 in Louisiana.
What is the average teacher salary in Ouachita Parish?
The average teacher salary in Ouachita Parish is $61,758 per year, according to the NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey.
What is the average rent near Ouachita Parish?
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in Ouachita Parish County is $N/A/month (2026). This affects housing affordability for families in the district.
What is the demographic composition of Ouachita Parish?
Ouachita Parish students are 51.1% White, 39.4% African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 36 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Ouachita Parish?
Ouachita Parish has an equity score of 31/100, ranking #152 out of 176 districts in Louisiana. This score measures resource distribution fairness across schools in the district.