District profile / Michigan

Wayne-Westland Community School District

Westland, Michigan · Superintendent: Catherine Cost · #15 of 316 Michigan districts by enrollment

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9,861

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$15,519

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 34% above the Michigan median

17.1

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Michigan median 16.8

Wayne-Westland Community School District is a public school district based in Westland, Michigan, serving 9,861 students in 16 schools. By enrollment it ranks #15 of the 316 Michigan districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 96% of them. Its schools average 616 students each, more than the Michigan median of 421. Its superintendent is Catherine Cost. It spends about $15,519 per student on day-to-day operations, 34% more than the Michigan median. It has roughly 17.1 students per teacher.

How Wayne-Westland Community compares

Wayne-Westland CommunityMichigan median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$15,519

Michigan median $11,576 · 34% above · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$8,430

Michigan median $7,157 · 18% above · FY2020-21

Students per school616

Michigan median 421 · 46% above · 2024-25

Students per teacher17.1

Michigan median 16.8 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor580

Michigan median 585 · about the same · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$167.9 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 12%State 56%Local 32%

Measure	Wayne-Westland Community	Michigan median	Year
Current spending per student	$15,519	$11,576	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$8,430	$7,157	FY2020-21
Total spending	$183.5 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$167.9 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	576	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	1,536	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	17.1	16.8	2024-25
Students per counselor	580	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

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Catherine Cost

Superintendent, Wayne-Westland Community School District

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
Lansing Public School DistrictLansing	9,951	26	$15,882	17.1	#14
Wayne-Westland Community School DistrictWestland · this district	9,861	16	$15,519	17.1	#15
Kentwood Public SchoolsGrand Rapids	9,631	16	$11,950	17.0	#16
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

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Warrick County School CorporationBoonville, IN	9,858	$9,239	16.1
Whittier Union HighWhittier, CA	9,846	$15,902	22.3
Sharyland ISDMission, TX	9,844	$11,063	15.7
Liberty Hill ISDLiberty Hill, TX	9,836	$9,168	14.9

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-wayne-westland-community-school-district