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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Portland, Maine - 16 schools
An equity score of 65/100 ranks Portland Public Schools #36 of 131 districts in Maine (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $21,356 per pupil, Portland Public Schools ranks #65 of 203 Maine districts by per-pupil spending (Maine districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Portland Public Schools operates 16 public schools serving 6,476 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Maine. The school portfolio breaks down into 7 combined, 3 high, 3 middle, 3 elementary schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Cumberland County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $21,356 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 203 Maine districts by per-pupil spending. See how Maine compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 68.1% local, 23.3% state, and 8.7% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 65/100, ranked #36 of 131 in Maine against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 16 schools offering Advanced Placement (29 AP courses district-wide), a 239.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 26.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 54.0% White, 26.7% African American, 9.0% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Deering High School, with a diversity index of 68.9/100.
Its largest campus is Portland High School, enrolling 912 students (14% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Cliff Island School, at 3 students, a 304x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Portland Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 912 students (highest), a spread of 909 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
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
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 Portland Public Schools is typically wider than the Portland Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 16 schools in Portland Public Schools.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Portland Public Schools's schools, above the Maine average of 20.6.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Portland High School | 912 |
| Deering High School | 850 |
| Harrison Lyseth Elem School | 489 |
| Amanda C Rowe School | 470 |
| Lyman Moore Middle School | 470 |
| Howard C Reiche Community Sch | 467 |
| King Middle School | 434 |
| Gerald E Talbot Community School | 394 |
| East End Community School | 391 |
| Lincoln Middle School | 382 |
| Casco Bay High School | 379 |
| Ocean Avenue | 337 |
| Presumpscot School | 266 |
| Longfellow School-Portland | 263 |
| Peaks Island School | 41 |
| Cliff Island School | 3 |
The Maine districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewiston Public Schools | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Bangor Public Schools | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Rsu 06/Msad 06 | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Rsu 17/Msad 17 | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Auburn Public Schools | Smaller | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Portland Public Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Lewiston Public Schools →Portland Public Schools has 16 schools, including 3 high, 7 combined, 3 middle, 3 elementary. Total enrollment is 6,476 students.
Portland Public Schools spends $21,356 per student. The district has an equity score of 65/100, ranking #36 in Maine.
Portland Public Schools students are 54.0% White, 26.7% African American, 9.0% Hispanic or Latino, 3.8% Asian, averaged across 16 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Portland Public Schools has an equity score of 65/100, ranking #36 out of 131 districts in Maine.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.