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Saint Clair Shores, Michigan - 4 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks South Lake Schools #216 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,348 per pupil, South Lake Schools ranks #177 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,496
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$14,348
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
South Lake Schools operates 4 public schools serving 1,496 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary 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 Macomb County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,348 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 39.4% local, 45.2% state, and 15.4% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 58/100, ranked #216 of 707 in Michigan 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 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 272.9:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 69.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 61.3% African American, 25.9% White, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Avalon Elementary School, with a diversity index of 59.5/100.
Its largest campus is South Lake High School, enrolling 426 students (31% of the district's total enrollment).
South Lake High School accounts for 28.5% of all South Lake Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means South Lake Schools-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.
South Lake Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 57.6% 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.
South Lake Schools student-counselor ratio is 273:1 — 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 South Lake Schools is typically wider than the South Lake Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
South Lake Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 69.2% — 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.
South Lake Schools has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,496 students.
How much does South Lake Schools spend per student?
South Lake Schools spends $14,348 per student. The district has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #216 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of South Lake Schools?
South Lake Schools students are 61.3% African American, 25.9% White, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for South Lake Schools?
South Lake Schools has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #216 out of 707 districts in Michigan.