Forest Hills Public Schools
Forest Hills Public Schools is a public school district based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving 8,838 students in 18 schools. By enrollment it ranks #19 of the 316 Michigan districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 94% of them. Its schools average 491 students each, more than the Michigan median of 421. Its superintendent is Ben Kirby. It spends about $11,828 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 16.9 students per teacher.
How Forest Hills compares
Spending and staffing
| Measure | Forest Hills | Michigan median | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current spending per student | $11,828 | $11,576 | FY2020-21 |
| Instruction spending per student | $7,751 | $7,157 | FY2020-21 |
| Total spending | $150.6 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Total revenue | $148.2 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 522 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Total staff (full-time equivalent) | 986 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Students per teacher | 16.9 | 16.8 | 2024-25 |
| Students per counselor | 402 | 585 | 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 Michigan median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.
Leadership
Moves tracker →Ben Kirby
Source: Michigan CEPI Educational Entity Master, checked 2026-10-04. Report a change
In the news
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Peer districts in Michigan
Compare side by side →| District | Students | Schools | Spending per student | Students per teacher | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Anse Creuse Public SchoolsClinton Township | 9,215 | 19 | $11,688 | 16.6 | #17 |
| Farmington Public School DistrictFarmington | 9,110 | 16 | $14,593 | 14.5 | #18 |
| Forest Hills Public SchoolsGrand Rapids · this district | 8,838 | 18 | $11,828 | 16.9 | #19 |
| Traverse City Area Public SchoolsTraverse City | 8,584 | 16 | $11,776 | 19.1 | #20 |
| Portage Public SchoolsPortage | 8,497 | 14 | $11,311 | 17.0 | #21 |
Similar-size districts nationally
| District | Students | Spending per student | Students per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield UnionBakersfield, CA | 8,860 | $12,863 | 22.4 |
| Jackson County School DistrictVancleave, MS | 8,845 | $9,912 | 14.7 |
| BartlettBartlett, TN | 8,834 | $10,500 | n/a |
| Midway ISDWoodway, TX | 8,824 | $9,599 | 15.2 |
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-mi-forest-hills-public-schools