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Sullivan, Indiana - 5 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Southwest School Corporation #137 of 373 districts in Indiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,485 per pupil, Southwest School Corporation ranks #137 of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending (Indiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,743
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,485
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Southwest School Corporation operates 5 public schools serving 1,743 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Indiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 2 middle, 1 high 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 Sullivan County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,485 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Indiana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 31.5% local, 57.0% state, and 11.5% 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 #137 of 373 in Indiana 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 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (17 AP courses district-wide), a 239.7:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 17.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 95.5% White, 2.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sullivan High School, with a diversity index of 10.6/100.
Its largest campus is Sullivan Elementary School, enrolling 627 students (35% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Carlisle Middle School, at 80 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Sullivan Elementary School accounts for 35.3% of all Southwest School Corporation student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Southwest School Corporation-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Southwest School Corporation school enrollment varies 7.8× across entities
Southwest School Corporation school enrollment ranges from 80 students (lowest) to 627 students (highest), a spread of 547 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.
Southwest School Corporation student-counselor ratio is 240:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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.
Southwest School Corporation chronic absenteeism rate is 17.0% — 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 Southwest School Corporation is typically wider than the Southwest School Corporation-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Southwest School Corporation?
Southwest School Corporation has 5 schools, including 2 combined, 1 high, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 1,743 students.
How much does Southwest School Corporation spend per student?
Southwest School Corporation spends $12,485 per student. The district has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #137 in Indiana.
What is the demographic composition of Southwest School Corporation?
Southwest School Corporation students are 95.5% White, 2.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Southwest School Corporation?
Southwest School Corporation has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #137 out of 373 districts in Indiana.