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Alma, Arkansas - 4 schools
An equity score of 32/100 ranks Alma School District #203 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,790 per pupil, Alma School District ranks #192 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,143
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$10,790
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Alma School District operates 4 public schools serving 3,143 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Crawford County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,790 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 25.5% local, 57.2% state, and 17.4% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 32/100, ranked #203 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 452.1:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 26.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 80.7% White, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Alma Primary School, with a diversity index of 37.3/100.
Its largest campus is Alma High School, enrolling 981 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Alma High School accounts for 31.2% of all Alma School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Alma School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Alma School District student-counselor ratio is 452:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Alma School District chronic absenteeism rate is 26.9% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Alma School District is typically wider than the Alma School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Alma School District has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,143 students.
How much does Alma School District spend per student?
Alma School District spends $10,790 per student. The district has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #203 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Alma School District?
Alma School District students are 80.7% White, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Alma School District?
Alma School District has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #203 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.