Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Shelbyville, Tennessee - 15 schools
An equity score of 43/100 ranks Bedford County #45 of 140 districts in Tennessee (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,064 per pupil, Bedford County ranks #139 of 141 Tennessee districts by per-pupil spending (Tennessee districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
9,047
Total Enrollment
15
Schools
$9,064
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Bedford County operates 15 public schools serving 9,047 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Tennessee. The school portfolio breaks down into 9 combined, 3 high, 3 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Bedford County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,064 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 15 of 141 Tennessee districts by per-pupil spending. See how Tennessee compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 19.1% local, 59.8% state, and 21.1% 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 43/100, ranked #45 of 140 in Tennessee against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 15 schools offering Advanced Placement (38 AP courses district-wide), a 457.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 31.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 57.5% White, 29.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Eakin Elementary, with a diversity index of 69.6/100.
Its largest campus is Shelbyville Central High School, enrolling 1,604 students (19% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Bedford County Virtual School, at 77 students, a 21x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Shelbyville Central High School accounts for 17.7% of all Bedford County student enrollment
That concentration means Bedford County-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.
Bedford County school enrollment varies 21× across entities
Bedford County school enrollment ranges from 77 students (lowest) to 1,604 students (highest), a spread of 1,527 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Bedford County student-counselor ratio is 457:1 — 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.
Bedford County chronic absenteeism rate is 31.2% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Bedford County has 15 schools, including 3 high, 3 middle, 9 combined. Total enrollment is 9,047 students.
How much does Bedford County spend per student?
Bedford County spends $9,064 per student. The district has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #45 in Tennessee.
What is the demographic composition of Bedford County?
Bedford County students are 57.5% White, 29.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.0% African American, 0.6% Asian, averaged across 15 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Bedford County?
Bedford County has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #45 out of 140 districts in Tennessee.