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Elk River, Minnesota - 3 schools
An equity score of 21/100 ranks Spectrum High School #388 of 410 districts in Minnesota (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,695 per pupil, Spectrum High School ranks #497 of 504 Minnesota districts by per-pupil spending (Minnesota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
883
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$9,695
Per-Pupil Spending
Middle, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Spectrum High School operates 3 public schools serving 883 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Minnesota. The school portfolio breaks down into 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 Sherburne County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,695 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 51 of 504 Minnesota districts by per-pupil spending. See how Minnesota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 5.0% local, 92.0% state, and 2.9% 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 21/100, ranked #388 of 410 in Minnesota against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 567.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 3.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.6% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Spectrum High School, with a diversity index of 27.9/100.
Its largest campus is Spectrum High School, enrolling 502 students (53% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Spectrum Middle School - Grade 6, at 147 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Spectrum High School accounts for 53.4% of all Spectrum High School student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Spectrum High School a distant remainder — means Spectrum High School-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.
Spectrum High School school enrollment varies 3.4× across entities
Spectrum High School school enrollment ranges from 147 students (lowest) to 502 students (highest), a spread of 355 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.
Spectrum High School student-counselor ratio is 567:1 — 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.
Spectrum High School chronic absenteeism rate is 3.0% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Spectrum High School has 3 schools, including 1 high, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 883 students.
How much does Spectrum High School spend per student?
Spectrum High School spends $9,695 per student. The district has an equity score of 21/100, ranking #388 in Minnesota.
What is the demographic composition of Spectrum High School?
Spectrum High School students are 86.6% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American, 1.2% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Spectrum High School?
Spectrum High School has an equity score of 21/100, ranking #388 out of 410 districts in Minnesota.