Traverse City Area Public Schools
Traverse City Area Public Schools is a public school district based in Traverse City, Michigan, serving 8,584 students in 16 schools. By enrollment it ranks #20 of the 316 Michigan districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 94% of them. Its schools average 536 students each, more than the Michigan median of 421. Its superintendent is John VanWagoner. It spends about $11,776 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 19.1 students per teacher.
How Traverse City Area compares
Spending and staffing
| Measure | Traverse City Area | Michigan median | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current spending per student | $11,776 | $11,576 | FY2020-21 |
| Instruction spending per student | $7,036 | $7,157 | FY2020-21 |
| Total spending | $136.9 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Total revenue | $128.8 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 450 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Total staff (full-time equivalent) | 1,086 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Students per teacher | 19.1 | 16.8 | 2024-25 |
| Students per counselor | 613 | 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 →John VanWagoner
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmington Public School DistrictFarmington | 9,110 | 16 | $14,593 | 14.5 | #18 |
| Forest Hills Public SchoolsGrand Rapids | 8,838 | 18 | $11,828 | 16.9 | #19 |
| Traverse City Area Public SchoolsTraverse City · this district | 8,584 | 16 | $11,776 | 19.1 | #20 |
| Portage Public SchoolsPortage | 8,497 | 14 | $11,311 | 17.0 | #21 |
| South Lyon Community SchoolsSouth Lyon | 8,387 | 13 | $11,057 | 17.3 | #22 |
Similar-size districts nationally
| District | Students | Spending per student | Students per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flagstaff Unified District (4192)Flagstaff, AZ | 8,595 | $10,382 | 15.7 |
| Glendale Elementary District (4271)Glendale, AZ | 8,580 | $9,664 | 20.2 |
| Oak Grove ElementarySan Jose, CA | 8,578 | $12,463 | 23.5 |
| Colonial School DistrictNew Castle, DE | 8,575 | $18,063 | 14.4 |
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-traverse-city-area-public-schools