Highland CUSD 5 vs Lowell Area Schools
IL · 2,730 students • MI · 3,470 students • fiscal year 2024 • swap sides
In one line
- Highland CUSD 5 and Lowell Area Schools spend within 2% of each other per student once local price levels are accounted for.
- Lowell Area Schools directs 3 more cents of every operating dollar to instruction than Highland CUSD 5.
- Highland CUSD 5 is far more dependent on local property taxes (51% of revenue vs 33%), which ties its budget more tightly to local property values.
- Highland CUSD 5 reports fewer students per teacher (13.7 vs 17.9). This is a staffing ratio, not an average class size.
Are these even comparable?
Establish the shape of each district before reading a single dollar figure.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Students enrolled | 2,730 | 3,470 |
| Schools | 6 | 7 |
| Grades served | PK–12 | PK–12 |
| Setting | Rural | Rural |
| County | Madison County | Kent County |
| State | IL | MI |
| Local price level (US = 100) Above 100 means a dollar buys less here than the national average. | 95.1 | 95.5 |
The headline dollar
Current operating spending per student, shown three ways. The first is what each district reports. The second and third are the honest ones for comparison.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Per student, as reported | $14,369 | $14,193 |
| Per student, price-adjusted Divided by the local price level, so both figures are in the same money. | $15,111 | $14,855 |
| Per student, price-adjusted, excluding transport Transportation provision varies enormously between districts and states. Removing it compares the parts both districts actually do. | $14,115 | $14,316 |
| Capital spending per student Buildings and land, never folded into the operating figures above. It is lumpy: a district mid-build looks expensive for two years. | Locked | Locked |
Highland CUSD 5
Lowell Area Schools
Where the money comes from
The funding mix determines how exposed a district is to local property values, to state politics, and to federal programmes ending.
Highland CUSD 5
- Local 51.4% Locked
- State 39.0% Locked
- Federal 9.6% Locked
Lowell Area Schools
- Local 33.2% Locked
- State 62.4% Locked
- Federal 4.5% Locked
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Local share of revenue Mostly property tax. A high share means school budgets track local property values, up and down. | 51.4% | 33.2% |
| State share of revenue | 39.0% | 62.4% |
| Federal share of revenue | 9.6% | 4.5% |
| Total revenue | Locked | Locked |
How IL funds its districts
Evidence-Based Funding: an adequacy target per district, with new state money directed first to districts furthest below their target.
How MI funds its districts
Proposal A foundation allowance: a per-pupil grant largely funded by the state, with limited local enhancement.
Where the money goes
The same slices in the same order for both districts, plus the differences by function — because two pie charts side by side hide exactly the thing you want to see.
Highland CUSD 5
- Instruction 61.2% Locked
- Instructional staff support 1.5% Locked
- Student support 3.6% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 8.9% Locked
- Transportation 6.6% Locked
- Food service 3.1% Locked
- School administration 4.4% Locked
- District administration 1.9% Locked
- Other support 2.7% Locked
- Other current 3.1% Locked
Lowell Area Schools
- Instruction 61.5% Locked
- Instructional staff support 4.5% Locked
- Student support 4.0% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 9.5% Locked
- Transportation 3.6% Locked
- Food service 4.1% Locked
- School administration 5.3% Locked
- District administration 1.3% Locked
- Other support 6.1% Locked
- Other current 4.1% Locked
What is actually different
Share of each district's operating dollar, Highland CUSD 5 minus Lowell Area Schools. Two pie charts side by side are almost impossible to read against each other; this is the same data as one chart.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Cents of each operating dollar reaching classrooms Instruction plus instructional staff support, as a share of current spending. | 62.7% | 66.0% |
| Administration share District office plus school administration. | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| Transportation share | 6.6% | 3.6% |
What the money buys
Staffing levels are the most direct thing a budget converts into.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher This is a staffing ratio: total enrollment divided by teaching staff. It is NOT average class size. Actual classes are larger than this number in every district. | 13.7 | 17.9 |
| Students per counselor | Locked | Locked |
| Students per administrator | Locked | Locked |
| Total salaries All staff, not teachers alone. | Locked | Locked |
Who they serve
The answer to "but they serve different kids" — which is usually a fair objection.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Child poverty rate Children aged 5 to 17 in poverty within the district boundary. Used instead of free-lunch eligibility, which community eligibility has made unusable for comparison. | 5.2% | 4.6% |
| English learners | — | — |
| Students with disabilities | — | — |
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -4.6% | -8.1% |
Results, and results for the money
Stability and risk
The homebuyer’s real question: what is likely to change after I move in?
Highland CUSD 5
No stability flags raised.
Lowell Area Schools
- Declining enrollment Enrollment fell more than 5% over five years. Enrollment decline is the single best predictor of school closures and programme cuts.
- High debt burden More than 10% of total spending goes to interest and debt retirement, money that cannot reach a classroom.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -4.6% | -8.1% |
| Long-term debt per student | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service share of spending | Locked | Locked |
Enrolling a child
The same checklist for both districts. Every "required" below links to the sentence it came from.
Highland CUSD 5
We have not been able to find an enrollment page for this district, so every row in its column below says so rather than guessing at it. Ask the district's registration office directly.
Lowell Area Schools
Careers - Enrollment - Our District - Lowell Area Schools
Almost nothing could be read off this page — usually a portal that builds its content in the browser. Treat the column below as "we could not tell", and open the district's page yourself.
Registration runs through Infinite Campus. Read August 23, 2026.
Is a seat at your zoned school guaranteed?
Highland CUSD 5
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
Lowell Area Schools
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
- This is the district’s own published wording, not our summary of it. Policies are rewritten between enrollment seasons and a page can be out of date the day after we read it — the school office is the only authority on whether a particular grade at a particular school is full right now.
- A warning here is about capacity, not about your address. It does not mean your child will be moved; it means the district has told you in writing that it may move them.
- Required the page says so, and the sentence is quoted.
- Mentioned only it comes up, but not as a requirement — often a sentence saying the district cannot demand it.
- Not mentioned we read the page and it was not on it. That is not the same as "not required".
- Page not read we have no enrollment page for this district.
Documents to bring
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of residency | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Proof of age (usually a birth certificate) | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Immunisation records | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Physical examination | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Dental, vision or hearing screening | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Tuberculosis test | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Records from the previous school | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| IEP or 504 plan | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Custody or guardianship paperwork | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Parent or guardian photo ID | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Home language survey | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Emergency contact information | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Proof of income | Page not read | Not mentioned |
| Social security number Asked for by some districts. It is not required to enrol, and a school may not refuse a child who does not provide one. We list it because districts ask, not because you must answer. | Page not read | Not mentioned |
How enrolling works
Locked 11 steps of the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments, proof of residency — are not shown. What to bring is above, and stays free.
- A blank row means the requirement did not appear on the district’s page. It does not mean the district will not ask for it — published lists are routinely incomplete, and the registrar has the final word.
- Requirements change every enrollment season. Check the district’s own page, linked above, before you gather anything.
- A district cannot condition enrollment on your child’s immigration status: under Plyler v. Doe (1982) every child resident in the district is entitled to a free public education. If a district asks for something that would reveal status, you are not obliged to provide it.
- If your family is in temporary or shared housing, the McKinney-Vento Act lets a child enrol immediately without the residency and records documents listed here. Ask for the district’s homeless liaison by name.
Comparability notes
- Cross-state comparison. Dollars below are shown both as reported and adjusted to a common price level, because a dollar buys different amounts of teacher in IL and MI.
What these numbers are, exactly
Who decides, and what it costs you
Every band above this one asks what a district spends. This one asks who chose to.
Highland CUSD 5
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
Lowell Area Schools
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
| Highland CUSD 5 | Lowell Area Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| School property tax levied, per student Only for districts that levy in their own name. Blank where the county or town levies instead — see the cards above, and read the next row. | $7,887 | $3,898 |
| Appropriated by the county or town, per student What the parent government handed the schools, for dependent systems. This is a general appropriation, not solely property tax. | — | — |
| Property tax as a share of all revenue How much of the budget rides on local property values, and therefore on local votes. | 41.7% | 20.7% |
| Long-term debt already owed, per student The balance at the end of the year, for scale. Repaid over decades, so it is a commitment made by earlier boards rather than a bill arriving now. | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service as a share of spending Interest plus principal repaid this year, against total spending. This is the part of the debt that is being paid now, out of money that would otherwise reach a classroom. | Locked | Locked |
| New long-term debt issued, per student Money borrowed during fiscal year 2024. What this figure does and does not tell you is set out under the table. | $2,316 | $9,624 |
- A figure in the borrowing row is not a bond voters approved. It records debt issued, and that includes refinancing existing debt at a new rate — which changes nothing about what a district owes — as well as certificates of participation and lease-revenue debt, which in many states a board can issue with no referendum at all. To find out what was actually on a ballot, check the county election office.
- Debt is repaid over decades. A large balance per student is a commitment made by earlier boards and earlier voters, not a bill arriving this year. The debt service row above it is the part being paid now.
Who sits on the board
Lowell Area Schools board of education
- Brian Krajewski — President term ends 2028
- Laurie Kuna — Vice President term ends 2028
- Pat Nugent — Secretary term ends 2026
- Jennifer Dougherty — Treasurer term ends 2026
- Jared Blough — Trustee term ends 2026
- Jessica Curtis — Trustee term ends 2028
- Annie Whitlock — Trustee term ends 2028
- The public may speak: “0167.3 - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS The Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on District matters.”
Read from the district’s own board page on 2026-08-24. Boards change; the district’s page is the current record, not ours.
These seats are elected, and what this board decides — the budget, the attendance boundaries, the calendar — is decided at a meeting the public may attend. The district’s own board page, linked above, is where it publishes the schedule and the agenda. We do not hold meeting dates or contact details for these people.
Funding measures on the ballot
Highland CUSD 5
We have not read IL’s election results, so this column is empty because of us and not because of Highland CUSD 5. Whether it has asked its voters for money is a question its county election office can answer and we cannot, yet.
Nobody has read IL’s school election results yet — that is a gap on our side, not a fact about this district. Its county elections office holds what it asked its voters for and what they answered, and that is a public record you can request. What it says is worth asking about at a board meeting.
Lowell Area Schools
| Election | Measure | Amount | Yes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-04 | Capital levy collected 2027–2032 · $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed value II. Lowell Area Schools Sinking Fund Millage Proposal |
— | — | No outcome published |
Locked One earlier measure in this district’s history is not shown.
2 measures have no outcome in the state’s file.
From the state’s own election file. Latest election on record: 2026-08-04.
What this state publishes: Michigan's Voter Information Center publishes sample ballots, not results. Every question here is the text voters were given; the Secretary of State's ballot preview records no vote counts and no outcome, so nothing on this page says whether a Michigan measure passed. The preview also carries only the elections in its current window — recent and upcoming — so a Michigan district's older bonds and millages are not here. And one precinct is read per township or city: where a township is split between school districts, a question that appeared only in another precinct of that township is not here either. A Michigan district with no rows has not necessarily left its taxpayers alone.
- A vote share is not an outcome. What it takes to carry varies by state and by measure — in some states a bond needs a supermajority and a minimum turnout while a levy on the same ballot needs half, so a clear majority can still lose. Every outcome shown here is copied from the state’s own election file, and the rule that applied is stated with the coverage above. Where that file stated no outcome we show whatever count it published and no verdict, rather than working one out from the percentage — and some states publish the ballot question without ever recording a count, so a blank there is a number nobody printed.
- These are the measures a district put to its voters, not its whole tax bill. A property tax bill also carries county, city and state levies that have nothing to do with schools, and in most states a school board can issue some kinds of debt with no vote at all.
The detailed figures for Highland CUSD 5 and Lowell Area Schools
The verdict, the headline dollar, the funding shares, who is served and every comparability caveat are free above, and stay free. What is behind the lock is the detail you would want before acting on any of it:
- capital spending per student
- total revenue and total current spending, and the funding mix in dollars (the percentage shares stay free)
- the ten-line per-student breakdown of where the money goes
- counselor and administrator ratios, and the total salary bill
- the debt behind the risk flags — per student, and as a share of spending
- the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments and proof of residency
- one more measure in the ballot history, with the amount
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