District profile / Wisconsin

Merrill Area School District

Merrill, Wisconsin · Superintendent: Shannon Murray · #76 of 185 Wisconsin districts by enrollment

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2,686

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$12,350

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · about the same as the Wisconsin median

15.4

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Wisconsin median 13.7

Merrill Area School District is a public school district based in Merrill, Wisconsin, serving 2,686 students in 7 schools. By enrollment it ranks #76 of the 185 Wisconsin districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 59% of them. Its schools average 384 students each, fewer than the Wisconsin median of 430. Its superintendent is Shannon Murray. It spends about $12,350 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 15.4 students per teacher.

How Merrill Area compares

Merrill AreaWisconsin median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$12,350

Wisconsin median $12,911 · about the same · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$7,135

Wisconsin median $7,657 · 7% below · FY2020-21

Students per school384

Wisconsin median 430 · 11% below · 2024-25

Students per teacher15.4

Wisconsin median 13.7 · 12% above · 2024-25

Students per counselor384

Wisconsin median 358 · 7% above · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$47.0 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 9%State 48%Local 44%

Measure	Merrill Area	Wisconsin median	Year
Current spending per student	$12,350	$12,911	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$7,135	$7,657	FY2020-21
Total spending	$44.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$47.0 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	174	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	362	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	15.4	13.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	384	358	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 Wisconsin median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

Leadership

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Shannon Murray

Superintendent, Merrill Area School District

Source: Wisconsin DPI, School Directory, checked 2026-10-05. Report a change

In the news

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We haven't matched any stories to Merrill Area School District yet. Recent Wisconsin coverage is on the Wisconsin page.

Peer districts in Wisconsin

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Sparta Area School DistrictSparta	2,749	7	$13,824	12.4	#74
Stoughton Area School DistrictStoughton	2,735	6	$13,459	12.3	#75
Merrill Area School DistrictMerrill · this district	2,686	7	$12,350	15.4	#76
South Milwaukee School DistrictSouth Milwaukee	2,686	6	$14,008	12.8	#77
Sauk Prairie School DistrictPrairie du Sac	2,658	6	$12,682	13.4	#78

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Western School DistrictParma, MI	2,688	$10,602	18.4
Washougal School DistrictWashougal, WA	2,687	$15,633	19.5
Menlo Park City ElementaryAtherton, CA	2,685	$22,268	16.7
Cloverport IndependentCloverport, KY	2,685	$13,430	22.4

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-wi-merrill-area-school-district