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Benton, Arkansas - 7 schools
An equity score of 14/100 ranks Benton School District #242 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $8,851 per pupil, Benton School District ranks #251 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,904
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$8,851
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Benton School District operates 7 public schools serving 5,904 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 combined, 1 high 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 Saline County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $8,851 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 26 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 34.2% local, 53.6% state, and 12.2% 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 14/100, ranked #242 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 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (15 AP courses district-wide), a 501:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 22.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.2% White, 12.5% African American, 11.9% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Angie Grant Elementary School, with a diversity index of 67.9/100.
Its largest campus is Benton Middle School, enrolling 1,363 students (25% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Angie Grant Elementary School, at 340 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Benton Middle School accounts for 23.1% of all Benton School District student enrollment
That concentration means Benton School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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 School District school enrollment varies 4.0× across entities
Benton School District school enrollment ranges from 340 students (lowest) to 1,363 students (highest), a spread of 1,023 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 School District student-counselor ratio is 501:1 — 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.
Benton School District chronic absenteeism rate is 22.8% — 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 Benton School District is typically wider than the Benton School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Benton School District has 7 schools, including 4 elementary, 1 high, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 5,904 students.
How much does Benton School District spend per student?
Benton School District spends $8,851 per student. The district has an equity score of 14/100, ranking #242 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Benton School District?
Benton School District students are 68.2% White, 12.5% African American, 11.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Benton School District?
Benton School District has an equity score of 14/100, ranking #242 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.