Carthage R-IX vs Alma School District
MO · 5,070 students • AR · 3,092 students • fiscal year 2024 • swap sides
In one line
- Alma School District spends 2% more per student than Carthage R-IX after adjusting for local price levels.
- Alma School District directs 1 more cents of every operating dollar to instruction than Carthage R-IX.
- Carthage R-IX is far more dependent on local property taxes (29% of revenue vs 12%), which ties its budget more tightly to local property values.
Are these even comparable?
Establish the shape of each district before reading a single dollar figure.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Students enrolled | 5,070 | 3,092 |
| Schools | 11 | 4 |
| Grades served | PK–12 | PK–12 |
| Setting | Town | Suburb |
| County | Jasper County | Crawford County |
| State | MO | AR |
| Local price level (US = 100) Above 100 means a dollar buys less here than the national average. | 85.7 | 85.9 |
The headline dollar
Current operating spending per student, shown three ways. The first is what each district reports. The second and third are the honest ones for comparison.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Per student, as reported | $11,767 | $12,074 |
| Per student, price-adjusted Divided by the local price level, so both figures are in the same money. | $13,728 | $14,058 |
| Per student, price-adjusted, excluding transport Transportation provision varies enormously between districts and states. Removing it compares the parts both districts actually do. | $13,151 | $13,438 |
| Capital spending per student Buildings and land, never folded into the operating figures above. It is lumpy: a district mid-build looks expensive for two years. | Locked | Locked |
Carthage R-IX
Alma School District
Where the money comes from
The funding mix determines how exposed a district is to local property values, to state politics, and to federal programmes ending.
Carthage R-IX
- Local 29.0% Locked
- State 53.4% Locked
- Federal 17.6% Locked
Alma School District
- Local 11.8% Locked
- State 76.5% Locked
- Federal 11.8% Locked
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Local share of revenue Mostly property tax. A high share means school budgets track local property values, up and down. | 29.0% | 11.8% |
| State share of revenue | 53.4% | 76.5% |
| Federal share of revenue | 17.6% | 11.8% |
| Total revenue | Locked | Locked |
How MO funds its districts
The Foundation Formula: a state adequacy target per weighted average daily attendance, less a local effort deduction.
How AR funds its districts
We have not yet written up AR's funding formula, so nothing is claimed here.
Where the money goes
The same slices in the same order for both districts, plus the differences by function — because two pie charts side by side hide exactly the thing you want to see.
Carthage R-IX
- Instruction 58.1% Locked
- Instructional staff support 4.0% Locked
- Student support 4.5% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 13.2% Locked
- Transportation 4.2% Locked
- Food service 5.7% Locked
- School administration 4.6% Locked
- District administration 4.5% Locked
- Other support 1.1% Locked
- Other current 5.7% Locked
Alma School District
- Instruction 59.2% Locked
- Instructional staff support 4.0% Locked
- Student support 3.8% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 10.7% Locked
- Transportation 4.4% Locked
- Food service 5.3% Locked
- School administration 4.2% Locked
- District administration 2.8% Locked
- Other support 2.8% Locked
- Other current 5.6% Locked
What is actually different
Share of each district's operating dollar, Carthage R-IX minus Alma School District. Two pie charts side by side are almost impossible to read against each other; this is the same data as one chart.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Cents of each operating dollar reaching classrooms Instruction plus instructional staff support, as a share of current spending. | 62.1% | 63.2% |
| Administration share District office plus school administration. | 9.1% | 7.0% |
| Transportation share | 4.2% | 4.4% |
What the money buys
Staffing levels are the most direct thing a budget converts into.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher This is a staffing ratio: total enrollment divided by teaching staff. It is NOT average class size. Actual classes are larger than this number in every district. | 13.1 | 12.0 |
| Students per counselor | Locked | Locked |
| Students per administrator | Locked | Locked |
| Total salaries All staff, not teachers alone. | Locked | Locked |
Who they serve
The answer to "but they serve different kids" — which is usually a fair objection.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Child poverty rate Children aged 5 to 17 in poverty within the district boundary. Used instead of free-lunch eligibility, which community eligibility has made unusable for comparison. | 14.9% | 14.7% |
| English learners | — | — |
| Students with disabilities | — | — |
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -1.6% | -6.2% |
Results, and results for the money
Stability and risk
The homebuyer’s real question: what is likely to change after I move in?
Carthage R-IX
No stability flags raised.
Alma School District
- Declining enrollment Enrollment fell more than 5% over five years. Enrollment decline is the single best predictor of school closures and programme cuts.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -1.6% | -6.2% |
| Long-term debt per student | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service share of spending | Locked | Locked |
Enrolling a child
The same checklist for both districts. Every "required" below links to the sentence it came from.
Carthage R-IX
Carthage R-9 - Enrollment Home
Registration runs through Infinite Campus. Read August 23, 2026.
Alma School District
ENROLLMENT | Alma School District
Almost nothing could be read off this page — usually a portal that builds its content in the browser. Treat the column below as "we could not tell", and open the district's page yourself.
Read August 23, 2026.
Is a seat at your zoned school guaranteed?
Carthage R-IX
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
Alma School District
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
- This is the district’s own published wording, not our summary of it. Policies are rewritten between enrollment seasons and a page can be out of date the day after we read it — the school office is the only authority on whether a particular grade at a particular school is full right now.
- A warning here is about capacity, not about your address. It does not mean your child will be moved; it means the district has told you in writing that it may move them.
- Required the page says so, and the sentence is quoted.
- Mentioned only it comes up, but not as a requirement — often a sentence saying the district cannot demand it.
- Not mentioned we read the page and it was not on it. That is not the same as "not required".
- Page not read we have no enrollment page for this district.
Documents to bring
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of residency | Required “Proof of residency (rental contract, realty contract, utility bill, deposit receipt or other special circumstances)” | Not mentioned |
| Proof of age (usually a birth certificate) | Required “Proof of age (medical records, birth certificate, baptismal records, passport, etc.)” | Not mentioned |
| Immunisation records | Required “Students new to the district may not enroll until verification of immunizations has been provided to the school.” | Not mentioned |
| Physical examination | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Dental, vision or hearing screening | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Tuberculosis test | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Records from the previous school | Required “District Information District Report Card District Financials” | Not mentioned |
| IEP or 504 plan | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Custody or guardianship paperwork | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Parent or guardian photo ID | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Home language survey | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Emergency contact information | Required “Emergency contact person (in case parents cannot be reached)” | Not mentioned |
| Proof of income | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Social security number Asked for by some districts. It is not required to enrol, and a school may not refuse a child who does not provide one. We list it because districts ask, not because you must answer. | Mentioned only Social security number (see note) “Student’s social security number (optional)” | Not mentioned |
How enrolling works
Locked 11 steps of the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments, proof of residency — are not shown. What to bring is above, and stays free.
- A blank row means the requirement did not appear on the district’s page. It does not mean the district will not ask for it — published lists are routinely incomplete, and the registrar has the final word.
- Requirements change every enrollment season. Check the district’s own page, linked above, before you gather anything.
- A district cannot condition enrollment on your child’s immigration status: under Plyler v. Doe (1982) every child resident in the district is entitled to a free public education. If a district asks for something that would reveal status, you are not obliged to provide it.
- If your family is in temporary or shared housing, the McKinney-Vento Act lets a child enrol immediately without the residency and records documents listed here. Ask for the district’s homeless liaison by name.
Comparability notes
- Cross-state comparison. Dollars below are shown both as reported and adjusted to a common price level, because a dollar buys different amounts of teacher in MO and AR.
What these numbers are, exactly
Who decides, and what it costs you
Every band above this one asks what a district spends. This one asks who chose to.
Carthage R-IX
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
Alma School District
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
| Carthage R-IX | Alma School District | |
|---|---|---|
| School property tax levied, per student Only for districts that levy in their own name. Blank where the county or town levies instead — see the cards above, and read the next row. | $3,202 | $891 |
| Appropriated by the county or town, per student What the parent government handed the schools, for dependent systems. This is a general appropriation, not solely property tax. | — | — |
| Property tax as a share of all revenue How much of the budget rides on local property values, and therefore on local votes. | 20.7% | 6.6% |
| Long-term debt already owed, per student The balance at the end of the year, for scale. Repaid over decades, so it is a commitment made by earlier boards rather than a bill arriving now. | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service as a share of spending Interest plus principal repaid this year, against total spending. This is the part of the debt that is being paid now, out of money that would otherwise reach a classroom. | Locked | Locked |
| New long-term debt issued, per student Money borrowed during fiscal year 2024. What this figure does and does not tell you is set out under the table. | $0 | $0 |
- Carthage R-IX: issued no new long-term debt in fiscal year 2024. That is a reported zero, not a gap in the data.
- Alma School District: issued no new long-term debt in fiscal year 2024. That is a reported zero, not a gap in the data.
- A figure in the borrowing row is not a bond voters approved. It records debt issued, and that includes refinancing existing debt at a new rate — which changes nothing about what a district owes — as well as certificates of participation and lease-revenue debt, which in many states a board can issue with no referendum at all. To find out what was actually on a ballot, check the county election office.
- Debt is repaid over decades. A large balance per student is a commitment made by earlier boards and earlier voters, not a bill arriving this year. The debt service row above it is the part being paid now.
What this band does not answer yet
The detailed figures for Carthage R-IX and Alma School District
The verdict, the headline dollar, the funding shares, who is served and every comparability caveat are free above, and stay free. What is behind the lock is the detail you would want before acting on any of it:
- capital spending per student
- total revenue and total current spending, and the funding mix in dollars (the percentage shares stay free)
- the ten-line per-student breakdown of where the money goes
- counselor and administrator ratios, and the total salary bill
- the debt behind the risk flags — per student, and as a share of spending
- the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments and proof of residency
$1.79 for both, for three months, 21 cents less than buying them one at a time.
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