Western Plains

Public school district · Ness County · Kansas · NCES district ID 2000020

Western Plains spent $24,158 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, more than 98% of the other Kansas districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022 (median $16,054). Its 3 schools enrolled 127 students in 2024-25; 52.4% of its revenue came from the state. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $22,449 per student, down 7.1% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).

NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 · Census Bureau school finances 2023-24 · NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · method

Spending per student among Kansas districts of similar size

Current spending per student excludes construction and debt. The 9 districts closest to Western Plains in enrollment (100 to 132 students) and Western Plains itself.

Current spending per student, Kansas districts closest in size to Western Plains, FY23Western Plains $24,158; Paradise $23,912; Elk Valley $22,345; Copeland $21,220; Logan $19,924; Weskan $18,887; Brewster $18,771; Wheatland $18,438; Lewis $17,591; Hamilton $16,262; State median, under 1,000 students $16,054.10k15k20k25kWestern Plains$24,158Paradise$23,912Elk Valley$22,345Copeland$21,220Logan$19,924Weskan$18,887Brewster$18,771Wheatland$18,438Lewis$17,591Hamilton$16,262State median, under 1,000 students $16,054
Current spending per student, Kansas districts closest in size to Western Plains, FY23Western Plains $24,158; Paradise $23,912; Elk Valley $22,345; Copeland $21,220; Logan $19,924; Weskan $18,887; Brewster $18,771; Wheatland $18,438; Lewis $17,591; Hamilton $16,262; State median, under 1,000 students $16,054.10k15k20k25kWestern Plains$24,158Paradise$23,912Elk Valley$22,345Copeland$21,220Logan$19,924Weskan$18,887Brewster$18,771Wheatland$18,438Lewis$17,591Hamilton$16,262State median, under 1,000 students $16,054
Current spending per student, Kansas districts closest in size to Western Plains, FY23Western Plains $24,158; Paradise $23,912; Elk Valley $22,345; Copeland $21,220; Logan $19,924; Weskan $18,887; Brewster $18,771; Wheatland $18,438; Lewis $17,591; Hamilton $16,262; State median, under 1,000 students $16,054.10k15k20k25kWestern Plains$24,158Paradise$23,912Elk Valley$22,345Copeland$21,220Logan$19,924Weskan$18,887Brewster$18,771Wheatland$18,438Lewis$17,591Hamilton$16,262State median, under 1,000 students $16,054
Current spending per student, Kansas districts closest in size to Western Plains, FY23Western Plains $24,158; Paradise $23,912; Elk Valley $22,345; Copeland $21,220; Logan $19,924; Weskan $18,887; Brewster $18,771; Wheatland $18,438; Lewis $17,591; Hamilton $16,262; State median, under 1,000 students $16,054.10k15k20k25kWestern Plains$24,158Paradise$23,912Elk Valley$22,345Copeland$21,220Logan$19,924Weskan$18,887Brewster$18,771Wheatland$18,438Lewis$17,591Hamilton$16,262State median, under 1,000 students $16,054

Where the money came from

$3,108,000 in revenue: 52.4% state, 34.6% local and 13.0% federal. Total spending including $324,000 of capital outlay was $3,223,000, or $26,858 per student; the figure above leaves capital out.

Western Plains revenue by source, fiscal year 2022-23State $1,628,000; Local $1,075,000; Federal $405,000; total $3,108,000.
  • State$1,628,000 52%
  • Local$1,075,000 35%
  • Federal$405,000 13%

Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures for elementary and secondary education divided by fall membership; the state median covers 203 districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022. Revenue by source (TOTALREV, TFEDREV, TSTREV, TLOCREV).

Enrollment rose from 2022-23 to 2024-25

120 students in 2022-23, 127 students in 2023-24, 127 students in 2024-25, counted across the schools that reported each year.

Western Plains enrollment by school year2022-23: 120, 2023-24: 127, 2024-25: 1270501001502022-231202023-241272024-25127
Western Plains enrollment by school year2022-23: 120, 2023-24: 127, 2024-25: 1270501001502022-231202023-241272024-25127
Western Plains enrollment by school year2022-23: 120, 2023-24: 127, 2024-25: 1270501001502022-231202023-241272024-25127
Western Plains enrollment by school year2022-23: 120, 2023-24: 127, 2024-25: 1270501001502022-231202023-241272024-25127

Teachers and students per teacher

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Per teacher
2022-2312015.17.9
2023-2412716.37.8
2024-2512716.97.5

Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; sums over the schools reporting each year.

State test results, 2021-22

In 2021-22, the students tested in Western Plains scored proficient or above: 30-39% in reading and 30-39% in math, against 32.5% in reading and 29.4% in math across Kansas. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within Kansas, not across states.

Students proficient or above, 2021-22
SubjectThis districtKansasStudents tested
Reading and language arts30-39%32.5%57
Math30-39%29.4%57

Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (the Data Rescue Project archive; ED has no 2022-23 result for this district): ED shows district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.

2 elementary schools, 93 students

SchoolStudentsPer teacherFree lunchTitle I, 2021‑22
Western Plains North Elementary6211.154.8%Eligible, no program
Western Plains South Elem/Jr High314.461.3%Schoolwide program

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.

1 high school, 34 students

SchoolStudentsPer teacherFree lunchTitle I, 2021‑22
Western Plains High348.150.0%Eligible, no program

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.

Contact Western Plains

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, local education agency directory 2024-25. Enrollment, boundaries and school assignment are the district's to confirm.

What to look at next about Western Plains

  1. Kansas districts by spending per studentWestern Plains ranks 5 of 203 Kansas districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022 on current spending per student in fiscal year 2022-23 ($24,158).#5 of 203
  2. Every school district in KansasWestern Plains is the number 273 by size of 290 Kansas districts, with 120 students in fall 2022 (F-33).#273 of 290
  3. WheatlandThe next larger Kansas district: 128 students in fall 2022, $18,438 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$18,438
  4. School for DeafThe next smaller Kansas district: 117 students in fall 2022.
  5. Compare Western Plains with WheatlandEnrollment, spending, revenue sources and schools, side by side.
  6. Western Plains High, its largest high school34 students in 2024-25, 8.1 per teacher.34
  7. Find the school district for an addressA home's district decides which public schools it can enroll in.

Source: NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student and fall 2022 membership; ranks among the state's districts that reported them); NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools).

Questions about Western Plains

  1. How many schools and students are in Western Plains?
    3 schools were open in 2024-25 (2 elementary, 1 high), enrolling 127 students, according to the NCES Common Core of Data.
  2. How much does Western Plains spend per student?
    $24,158 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), which leaves out construction and debt; the Kansas median for districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022 is $16,054 and the U.S. figure is $16,260. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $22,449 per student, down 7.1% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).
  3. Where does Western Plains' money come from?
    $3,108,000 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23: 52.4% state, 34.6% local and 13.0% federal (NCES F-33).
  4. How many children in Western Plains live in poverty?
    The Census Bureau estimates that 21 of the 149 children aged 5 to 17 living within the district's boundaries in 2024, 14.1%, were in families in poverty (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It is a model-based estimate for everyone living in the district, not a count of its students; the free-meal shares in the school tables are counts of enrolled students.
  5. How do students in Western Plains do on state tests?
    In 2021-22, the students tested in Western Plains scored proficient or above: 30-39% in reading and 30-39% in math, against 32.5% in reading and 29.4% in math across Kansas. Kansas's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22.
  6. What is Western Plains' NCES district ID?
    2000020. Each of its schools' 12-digit NCES IDs begins with these seven digits.

Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.

Sources

Every federal file behind this record
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
  • Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
  • EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
  • EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024: children aged 5 to 17 and those in families in poverty, by school district. census.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2023-24: per pupil current spending for 2023-24 and 2022-23. census.gov
  • NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances Per pupil current spending by school system · FY 2023-24

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Revenue and expenditures by district · FY 2022-23

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25

Compiled from official source data by .