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Berea, Kentucky - 3 schools
An equity score of 79/100 ranks Berea Independent #20 of 171 districts in Kentucky (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,613 per pupil, Berea Independent ranks #26 of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending (Kentucky districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,086
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$14,613
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Berea Independent operates 3 public schools serving 1,086 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Kentucky. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 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 Madison County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,613 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kentucky compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 19.8% local, 56.7% state, and 23.4% 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 79/100, ranked #20 of 171 in Kentucky against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (7 AP courses district-wide), a 323.7:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 41.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.4% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.2% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Berea Community Elementary School, with a diversity index of 34.7/100.
Berea Community Elementary School accounts for 41.3% of all Berea Independent student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Berea Independent-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.
Berea Independent school enrollment varies 2.1× across entities
Berea Independent school enrollment ranges from 214 students (lowest) to 448 students (highest), a spread of 234 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.
Berea Independent has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 57.6% 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.
Berea Independent student-counselor ratio is 324:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Berea Independent is typically wider than the Berea Independent-aggregate figure suggests.
Berea Independent chronic absenteeism rate is 41.2% — 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.