Enrollment
1,421
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 200873001286
Liberal Sr High — Liberal, KS
Federal NCES profile for Liberal Sr High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 38
📚 AP courses 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 29
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
88.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
+7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.2%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Liberal Sr High compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Liberal Sr High reports 1,421 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 88.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% above the Kansas state mean of 14.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 64.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 50% above the Kansas average and 24% above the national baseline. The school offers 7 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 355 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Liberal spends $14,048 per pupil district-wide, below the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 14.3% from local sources (property taxes), 75.9% from the state, and 9.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Liberal Sr High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.4:1 | ▲ 7% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.2% | ▲ 50% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,421 | top 97% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
64.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 50% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 7% above state mean
Top 76% in Kansas — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
42.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,048
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kansas avg of $17,342
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 355 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
368
in-school suspensions + 123 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 25.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 34.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,421 Top 97% in Kansas — larger than 3% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 88.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 +7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 64.2% +50% vs state
NCES ID 200873001286
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 86.7%
White 8.5%
Two or More 2.3%
Asian 1.4%
African American 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 86.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 7
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 355:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.3%
In-school suspensions 368
Out-of-school suspensions 123
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Liberal, which includes Liberal Sr High.
$14,048
Per student
-19%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 14.3%
State 75.9%
Federal 9.8%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 570
- Students per teacher
- 26.5:1
- Enrollment
- 516
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 500
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Enrollment
- 426
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Liberal Sr High
How many students attend Liberal Sr High?
Liberal Sr High has 1,421 students enrolled. It is a high school in Liberal, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberal Sr High?
The student-teacher ratio at Liberal Sr High is 15.4:1, which is 7% higher than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Liberal Sr High?
64.2% of students at Liberal Sr High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberal Sr High?
The largest demographic group at Liberal Sr High is Hispanic or Latino at 86.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Liberal, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberal Sr High?
Liberal Sr High has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.