Enrollment
155
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Merino, CO
Merino Junior Senior High School
Federal NCES profile for Merino Junior Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 080564000970
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 19
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Merino Junior Senior High School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Colorado schools.
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.9:1
- small classes for Colorado
- 16.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 155
- students enrolled
Merino Junior Senior High School has class sizes smaller than 77% of Colorado schools. Computed live against every Colorado school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: School District No. Re-4 Buffalo · Colorado
NCES ID 080564000970 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 16.6:1 Colorado avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.2%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Merino Junior Senior High School compares with Colorado and U.S. medians
What stands out at Merino Junior Senior High School
Merino Junior Senior High School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Merino, Colorado, enrolling 155 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Colorado schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 16.2% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 155 puts it in the smaller third of Colorado schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,922 scored Colorado schools.
Against 76 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #47.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district, School District No. Re-4 Buffalo, also runs Merino Elementary School (159 students).
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Merino Junior Senior High School compares
Merino Junior Senior High School on the metrics families compare, against Colorado and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Colorado | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 22% | 16.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.2% | ▼ 58% | 38.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 155 | top 82% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
155
Bigger than 15% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
16.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 58% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
- 22% below state mean
Top 23% in Colorado - lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
32.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,475
per pupil, district-wide
- below Colorado avg of $16,273
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 86.5%
Hispanic or Latino 11.0%
Two or More 1.3%
African American 0.6%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: White at 86.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.9, Merino Junior Senior High School is less mixed than the Colorado school average of 47.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for School District No. Re-4 Buffalo, which includes Merino Junior Senior High School.
$15,475
Per student
-5%
vs Colorado
Avg $16,273
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.9%
State 57.9%
Federal 7.2%
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.
How Merino Junior Senior High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merino Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Merino Junior Senior High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 159
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Colorado, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~155 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Merino Junior Senior High School's federal record.
- Compare Merino Junior Senior High School against another school. Compare schools
- School District No. Re-4 Buffalo's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Merino Junior Senior High School
How many students attend Merino Junior Senior High School?
Merino Junior Senior High School has 155 students enrolled. It is a public school in Merino, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Merino Junior Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Merino Junior Senior High School is 12.9:1, which is 22% lower than the Colorado average of 16.6:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Merino Junior Senior High School?
16.2% of students at Merino Junior Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Merino Junior Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Merino Junior Senior High School is White at 86.5% of enrollment, in Merino, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Merino Junior Senior High School?
Merino Junior Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Merino Junior Senior High School a good school?
Merino Junior Senior High School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Colorado schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in School District No. Re-4 Buffalo?
Besides Merino Junior Senior High School, School District No. Re-4 Buffalo also operates Merino Elementary School (159 students). See the School District No. Re-4 Buffalo district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.