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Benson, Minnesota - 4 schools
An equity score of 51/100 ranks Benson Public School District #192 of 410 districts in Minnesota (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,866 per pupil, Benson Public School District ranks #288 of 504 Minnesota districts by per-pupil spending (Minnesota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
808
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$13,866
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Benson Public School District operates 4 public schools serving 808 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Minnesota. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined 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 Swift County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,866 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 504 Minnesota districts by per-pupil spending. See how Minnesota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 28.1% local, 60.1% state, and 11.8% 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 51/100, ranked #192 of 410 in Minnesota against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 725:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 39.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.0% White, 14.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Benson Area Learning Center, with a diversity index of 67.4/100.
Its largest campus is Northside Elementary, enrolling 391 students (51% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Benson Area Learning Center, at 13 students, a 30x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Northside Elementary accounts for 48.4% of all Benson Public School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Benson Public School District a distant remainder — means Benson Public 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.
Benson Public School District school enrollment varies 30× across entities
Benson Public School District school enrollment ranges from 13 students (lowest) to 391 students (highest), a spread of 378 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Benson Public School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 55.0% 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.
Benson Public School District student-counselor ratio is 725:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Benson Public School District chronic absenteeism rate is 39.3% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Benson Public School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Minnesota
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Benson Public School District?
Benson Public School District has 4 schools, including 4 combined. Total enrollment is 808 students.
How much does Benson Public School District spend per student?
Benson Public School District spends $13,866 per student. The district has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #192 in Minnesota.
What is the demographic composition of Benson Public School District?
Benson Public School District students are 68.0% White, 14.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.4% African American, 3.1% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Benson Public School District?
Benson Public School District has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #192 out of 410 districts in Minnesota.