Prairie Central CUSD 8
Prairie Central CUSD 8 is a public school district based in Fairbury, Illinois, serving 1,712 students in 6 schools. By enrollment it ranks #233 of the 376 Illinois districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 38% of them. Its schools average 285 students each, fewer than the Illinois median of 465. Its superintendent is Brian Quam. It spends about $16,196 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 12.2 students per teacher.
How Prairie Central CUSD 8 compares
Spending and staffing
| Measure | Prairie Central CUSD 8 | Illinois median | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current spending per student | $16,196 | $16,815 | FY2020-21 |
| Instruction spending per student | $11,150 | $10,013 | FY2020-21 |
| Total spending | $30.4 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Total revenue | $35.3 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 140 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Total staff (full-time equivalent) | 276 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Students per teacher | 12.2 | 13.6 | 2024-25 |
| Students per counselor | 856 | 490 | 2024-25 |
Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The Illinois median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.
Leadership
Moves tracker →Brian Quam
Source: Illinois State Board of Education, Directory of Educational Entities, checked 2026-10-19. Report a change
In the news
0 stories matchedWe haven't matched any stories to Prairie Central CUSD 8 yet. Recent Illinois coverage is on the Illinois page.
Peer districts in Illinois
Compare side by side →| District | Students | Schools | Spending per student | Students per teacher | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evergreen Park ESD 124Evergreen Park | 1,735 | 5 | $19,366 | 11.7 | #232 |
| Prairie Central CUSD 8Fairbury · this district | 1,712 | 6 | $16,196 | 12.2 | #233 |
| Pekin CSD 303Pekin | 1,712 | 1 | $14,981 | 15.6 | #234 |
| Roxana CUSD 1Roxana | 1,708 | 4 | $18,867 | 14.4 | #235 |
| Monticello CUSD 25Monticello | 1,707 | 4 | $14,960 | 14.1 | #236 |
Similar-size districts nationally
| District | Students | Spending per student | Students per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean City School DistrictOcean City, NJ | 1,713 | $23,074 | 8.0 |
| Deer Lakes School DistrictCheswick, PA | 1,713 | $17,052 | 12.4 |
| WebsterWebster, MA | 1,712 | $18,504 | 12.1 |
| Rains ISDEmory, TX | 1,712 | $11,011 | 13.6 |
Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.
Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-il-prairie-central-cusd-8