District profile / Wisconsin

Sparta Area School District

Sparta, Wisconsin · Superintendent: Sam Russ · #74 of 185 Wisconsin districts by enrollment

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2,749

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$13,824

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 7% above the Wisconsin median

12.4

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Wisconsin median 13.7

Sparta Area School District is a public school district based in Sparta, Wisconsin, serving 2,749 students in 7 schools. By enrollment it ranks #74 of the 185 Wisconsin districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 60% of them. Its schools average 393 students each, about the same as the Wisconsin median of 430. Its superintendent is Sam Russ. It spends about $13,824 per student on day-to-day operations, 7% more than the Wisconsin median. It has roughly 12.4 students per teacher.

How Sparta Area compares

Sparta AreaWisconsin median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$13,824

Wisconsin median $12,911 · 7% above · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$7,547

Wisconsin median $7,657 · about the same · FY2020-21

Students per school393

Wisconsin median 430 · 9% below · 2024-25

Students per teacher12.4

Wisconsin median 13.7 · 9% below · 2024-25

Students per counselor250

Wisconsin median 358 · 30% below · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$48.5 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 10%State 59%Local 31%

Measure	Sparta Area	Wisconsin median	Year
Current spending per student	$13,824	$12,911	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$7,547	$7,657	FY2020-21
Total spending	$50.5 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$48.5 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	221	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	461	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	12.4	13.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	250	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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Sam Russ

Superintendent, Sparta Area School District

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

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Peer districts in Wisconsin

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Sparta Area School DistrictSparta · this district	2,749	7	$13,824	12.4	#74
Stoughton Area School DistrictStoughton	2,735	6	$13,459	12.3	#75
Merrill Area School DistrictMerrill	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
Donegal School DistrictMount Joy, PA	2,750	$14,456	15.4
West York Area School DistrictYork, PA	2,750	$17,514	13.1
Pierre School District 32-2Pierre, SD	2,749	$9,900	16.5
Gulf Shores CityGulf Shores, AL	2,748	$10,484	17.2

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-wi-sparta-area-school-district