High Schools along the North Shore are among the leaders in Illinois when it comes to spending on their students. Some of the elementary schools are in the same situation.
The School Report Card published by the Illinois State Board of Education shows the North Shore’s four high school districts are all within the top seven in the state for the 2016 fiscal year ending June 30, 2016.
New Trier Township High School District 203 ranks third in the state, leading the North Shore high school districts. Township High School District 113 is fourth, Lake Forest Community High School District 115 is fifth, and Glenbrook High School District 225 is seventh.
District 113 serves Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools while D-225 takes in Glenbrook North and South High Schools.
The area’s elementary schools show more range, with some ranking near the top such as Sunset Ridge School District 69 at fourth. Glenview School District 34 was the area’s lowest at 100th, but it is still close to the top quarter statewide.
There are 853 school districts in Illinois of which 370 are exclusive for elementary schools, 98 for high schools and the remaining 385 districts serve the primary and secondary schools together in their area. The rankings in this story are based on category. There are no K-12 districts on the North Shore.
New Trier, Highland Park, Lake Forest Spending Is Similar
Spending on high school students was close, with $614 separating New Trier at $25,006 per student and Lake Forest at $24,392. District 113 was in between at $24,761. District 225 spent $22,941.
Niles Township High School District 219 spent the most on each student of any high school district in the state at $26,951. Evanston High School was eighth at $22,741 while Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire was 21st, spending $18,918 per pupil.
As a rule elementary school districts spent less on each student but there was a wider range with Sunset Ridge School District 29 serving Northfield spending $25,703, nearly twice as much as District 34 at $13,399. Sunset Ridge ranks fourth in the state among the elementary districts.
Also ranking in the top 10 in the state when it comes to spending per student are Bannockburn School District 106 at seventh, Kenilworth School District 38 at eighth and Winnetka School District 36 at ninth. Bannockburn spends $23,340, Kenilworth $22,200 and Winnetka $21,915.
Spending more per pupil than any other elementary district in Illinois is Rondout School District 72 at $32,277. The district is in Libertyville Township but its one school has a Lake Forest mailing address.
Along with Kenilworth, Winnetka and Sunset Ridge, three other school districts send students to New Trier. They are Avoca School District 37, Glencoe School District 35 and Wilmette School District 68. Avoca ranks 11th in spending per pupil with $20,148, Glencoe 23rd with $17,848 and Wilmette 68th at $14,657.
Lake Forest, Lake Bluff Spending Similar
The two school districts feeding into Lake Forest High School—Lake Bluff School District 65 and Lake Forest School District 67—rank 21st and 22nd respectively with $87 per student separating them. Lake Bluff expends $18,354 and Lake Forest $18,267.
Also in Lake County, North Shore School District 112 serving Highland Park and Highwood ranks 36th spending $16,200 per student, while Deerfield Public School District 109 ranks 41st and spends $16,580.
Spending is also similar in Northbrook with Northbrook School District 27 ranking 13th, Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 14th and Northbrook School District 28 15th. They spend $19,667, $19,010 and $18,948 respectively. West Northfield School District 31, which is also in Northbrook, is 30th spending $17,049.
The average spending per pupil in Illinois across elementary, high school and unified districts is $12,973.
Click here to find the ISBE’s school report card page and then click on the appropriate year.