Rolla operates 2 public schools serving 97 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Kansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 other schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. Aggregated across those campuses, enrollment totals 108 pupils using the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is geographically located in Morton County County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $21,990 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 29.3% local, 65.3% state, and 5.4% 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 $127,353 per NCES F-33, a signal of the district's ability to recruit and retain staff against neighbouring districts.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 315:1 student-counselor ratio, above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 26.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 64.8% White, 34.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Rolla Elem (Prek-5) accounts for 53.7% of all Rolla student enrollment
That concentration — well above the 8.4% national median for largest-entity share — means Rolla-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: other. 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.
Rolla has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 54.5% 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.
Rolla student-counselor ratio is 315:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Rolla is typically wider than the Rolla-aggregate figure suggests.
Rolla chronic absenteeism rate is 26.5% — 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 Rolla is typically wider than the Rolla-aggregate figure suggests.