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Shepherd, Michigan - 5 schools
An equity score of 29/100 ranks Shepherd Public Schools #644 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,184 per pupil, Shepherd Public Schools ranks #687 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,785
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$11,184
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Shepherd Public Schools operates 5 public schools serving 1,785 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined 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 Isabella County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,184 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 21.5% local, 67.8% state, and 10.7% 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 29/100, ranked #644 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 490.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 45.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 85.7% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Odyssey Middlehigh School, with a diversity index of 36.6/100.
Its largest campus is Shepherd Elementary School, enrolling 544 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Odyssey Middlehigh School, at 69 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Shepherd Elementary School accounts for 30.5% of all Shepherd Public Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Shepherd Public Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Shepherd Public Schools school enrollment varies 7.9× across entities
Shepherd Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 69 students (lowest) to 544 students (highest), a spread of 475 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.
Shepherd Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 490:1 — 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.
Shepherd Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 45.2% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Shepherd Public Schools has 5 schools, including 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 1,785 students.
How much does Shepherd Public Schools spend per student?
Shepherd Public Schools spends $11,184 per student. The district has an equity score of 29/100, ranking #644 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Shepherd Public Schools?
Shepherd Public Schools students are 85.7% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Shepherd Public Schools?
Shepherd Public Schools has an equity score of 29/100, ranking #644 out of 707 districts in Michigan.