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Benton Harbor, Michigan - 6 schools
An equity score of 55/100 ranks Benton Harbor Area Schools #265 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,532 per pupil, Benton Harbor Area Schools ranks #84 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,448
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$16,532
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Benton Harbor Area Schools operates 6 public schools serving 1,448 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 2 combined, 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 Berrien County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,532 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 34.8% local, 35.5% state, and 29.7% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 55/100, ranked #265 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 237.3:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 90.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 90.6% African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Career and Alternative Pathways to Education Center, with a diversity index of 27.5/100.
Benton Harbor High School accounts for 32.4% of all Benton Harbor Area Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Benton Harbor Area Schools-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.
Benton Harbor Area Schools school enrollment varies 7.9× across entities
Benton Harbor Area Schools school enrollment ranges from 59 students (lowest) to 469 students (highest), a spread of 410 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Benton Harbor Area Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 95.0% 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). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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.
Benton Harbor Area Schools student-counselor ratio is 237:1 — 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.
Benton Harbor Area Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 90.0% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
How many schools are in Benton Harbor Area Schools?
Benton Harbor Area Schools has 6 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 elementary, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 1,448 students.
How much does Benton Harbor Area Schools spend per student?
Benton Harbor Area Schools spends $16,532 per student. The district has an equity score of 55/100, ranking #265 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Benton Harbor Area Schools?
Benton Harbor Area Schools students are 90.6% African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% White, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Benton Harbor Area Schools?
Benton Harbor Area Schools has an equity score of 55/100, ranking #265 out of 707 districts in Michigan.