Barnesville High School

Located at 302 3RD ST SE, in BARNESVILLE, Minnesota, Barnesville High School is a mid-sized high school that works with 380 students (grades 7 through 12), run under BARNESVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST..

Within BARNESVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST., which oversees 2 schools and 870 students, Barnesville High School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Barnesville High School lists that the student body is overwhelmingly White (90%). Beyond that, the school reports 4% multiracial, 3% Hispanic.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.3:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 20% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Clay County (around 40%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Barnesville High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 54.3%; this one delivers 46.4%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Clay County put median household earnings sit near $81,172, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Clay County runs 32 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,470 students), of which Barnesville High School is one.

Barnesville Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Barnesville High School at 4th of 6; the average score across the group is 49.6%.

The campus sits in a low-density setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Barnesville High School's enrollment has ticked down 3% since 2018, when it stood at 392 (now 380). The White share of enrollment declined from 95% to 90% over that span. Class-load math has grew: from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 16.3:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.