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Sterling, Nebraska - 2 schools
An equity score of 47/100 ranks Sterling Public Schools #113 of 200 districts in Nebraska (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,014 per pupil, Sterling Public Schools ranks #143 of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending (Nebraska districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
224
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$16,014
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Sterling Public Schools operates 2 public schools serving 224 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Nebraska. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Johnson County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,014 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending. See how Nebraska compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 79.5% local, 13.8% state, and 6.6% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 47/100, ranked #113 of 200 in Nebraska against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 112:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 24.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 90.3% White, 8.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Sterling Elementary School, enrolling 143 students (64% of the district's total enrollment).
Sterling Elementary School accounts for 63.8% of all Sterling Public Schools student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Sterling Public Schools a distant remainder — means Sterling Public Schools-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.
Sterling Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 112:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 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.
Sterling Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 24.0% — 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 Sterling Public Schools is typically wider than the Sterling Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Sterling Public Schools has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 224 students.
How much does Sterling Public Schools spend per student?
Sterling Public Schools spends $16,014 per student. The district has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #113 in Nebraska.
What is the demographic composition of Sterling Public Schools?
Sterling Public Schools students are 90.3% White, 8.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Sterling Public Schools?
Sterling Public Schools has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #113 out of 200 districts in Nebraska.