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.
Benzonia, Michigan - 6 schools
An equity score of 33/100 ranks Benzie County Central Schools #611 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,049 per pupil, Benzie County Central Schools ranks #351 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,236
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$13,049
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Benzie County Central Schools operates 6 public schools serving 1,236 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 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 Benzie County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,049 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 60.6% local, 28.0% state, and 11.4% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 33/100, ranked #611 of 707 in Michigan 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 6 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 165:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 51.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 90.1% White, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Crystal Lake Elementary School, with a diversity index of 23.4/100.
Its largest campus is Benzie Central Sr High School, enrolling 292 students (26% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Benzie Academy, at 85 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Benzie Central Sr High School accounts for 23.6% of all Benzie County Central Schools student enrollment
That concentration means Benzie County Central 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.
Benzie County Central Schools school enrollment varies 3.4× across entities
Benzie County Central Schools school enrollment ranges from 85 students (lowest) to 292 students (highest), a spread of 207 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.
Benzie County Central Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 66.0% 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 approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Benzie County Central Schools student-counselor ratio is 165:1 — 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.
Benzie County Central Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 51.4% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Benzie County Central Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Benzie County Central Schools?
Benzie County Central Schools has 6 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 4 combined. Total enrollment is 1,236 students.
How much does Benzie County Central Schools spend per student?
Benzie County Central Schools spends $13,049 per student. The district has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #611 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Benzie County Central Schools?
Benzie County Central Schools students are 90.1% White, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Benzie County Central Schools?
Benzie County Central Schools has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #611 out of 707 districts in Michigan.