How does CCSD compare with the other largest school districts in the US?

The Clark County School District’s status as the fifth-largest school district in the country has long been at the center of conversations around its ranking as among the lowest-performing districts in the nation.

Its size has been cited as a difficulty in managing the budget, dealing with a high number of teacher vacancies and tending to the needs of a diverse group of students.

Over the years, several efforts have been made to provide more local control to both schools and municipalities. Assembly Bill 469, passed in 2017, requires CCSD to decentralize and transfer more decision-making and budgetary power to principals and schools. The school district’s adherence to the law has been heavily debated in years since.

More recent discussions have called for splitting up the school district. Officials in Henderson have campaigned several times for the city to carve out its own school district.

Just how does CCSD compare with other big districts, including in the number of teachers? Here is a list of five school districts with the highest numbers of students enrolled, and a few facts about them, according to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics for the 2023-2024 school year.

1. New York City Public Schools

New York City is home to the country’s largest school district, with 845,509 students in its public schools, according to the data. The school district has 1,591 operational public schools.

The district has almost 70,000 full-time equivalent teachers, which translates to a 12-to-1 student to teacher ratio.

2. Los Angeles Unified

Los Angeles has the second largest school district, with 419,929 students. The district has 785 public schools.

That district employs almost 22,000 teachers, which makes for a student to teacher ratio of 19-to-1.

3. Miami-Dade County

Florida’s school district around Miami — the only school district in the top five that the Department of Education marks as suburban — has 335,500 students and 536 public schools.

There are almost 17,000 full-time teachers, making the student to teacher ratio 20-to-1.

4. Chicago Public Schools

Chicago has 322,809 students and 643 public schools.

More than 23,000 full-time teachers are employed in that district, which makes for a student to teacher ratio of 14 to 1.

5. Clark County

There are 309,394 students in CCSD, and 383 public schools, according to the national data. It lists almost 15,000 full-time teachers, making the 21 to 1 student to teacher ratio the highest among the five districts.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.