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Shelton, Washington - 10 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Shelton School District #83 of 238 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,248 per pupil, Shelton School District ranks #204 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,540
Total Enrollment
10
Schools
$16,248
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Shelton School District operates 10 public schools serving 4,540 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Washington. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 3 high, 2 elementary, 1 middle 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 Mason County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,248 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 19.7% local, 67.6% state, and 12.8% 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 57/100, ranked #83 of 238 in Washington against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 10 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 353.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 29.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 49.4% White, 42.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Shelton High School, with a diversity index of 61.3/100.
Its largest campus is Shelton High School, enrolling 1,455 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mason County Detention Center, at 1 students, a 1455x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Shelton High School accounts for 32.0% of all Shelton School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Shelton School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Shelton School District school enrollment varies 1455× across entities
Shelton School District school enrollment ranges from 1 students (lowest) to 1,455 students (highest), a spread of 1,454 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.
Shelton School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 60.1% 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.
Shelton School District student-counselor ratio is 354:1 — 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.
Shelton School District chronic absenteeism rate is 29.6% — 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 Shelton School District is typically wider than the Shelton School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Shelton School District has 10 schools, including 3 high, 4 combined, 2 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 4,540 students.
How much does Shelton School District spend per student?
Shelton School District spends $16,248 per student. The district has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #83 in Washington.
What is the demographic composition of Shelton School District?
Shelton School District students are 49.4% White, 42.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% African American, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 10 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Shelton School District?
Shelton School District has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #83 out of 238 districts in Washington.