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Bearden, Arkansas - 2 schools
An equity score of 73/100 ranks Bearden School District #32 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,585 per pupil, Bearden School District ranks #85 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
476
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$12,585
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Bearden School District operates 2 public schools serving 476 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 elementary 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 Ouachita County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,585 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 23.6% local, 53.3% state, and 23.1% 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 73/100, ranked #32 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 223:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 29.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 53.9% White, 35.2% African American, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Bearden High School, enrolling 227 students (51% of the district's total enrollment).
Bearden High School accounts for 47.7% of all Bearden School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Bearden School District a distant remainder — means Bearden School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Bearden School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 54.7% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Bearden School District student-counselor ratio is 223:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Bearden School District chronic absenteeism rate is 29.2% — 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 Bearden School District is typically wider than the Bearden School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Bearden School District has 2 schools, including 1 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 476 students.
How much does Bearden School District spend per student?
Bearden School District spends $12,585 per student. The district has an equity score of 73/100, ranking #32 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Bearden School District?
Bearden School District students are 53.9% White, 35.2% African American, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Bearden School District?
Bearden School District has an equity score of 73/100, ranking #32 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.