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Bessemer, Michigan - 2 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Bessemer Area School District #114 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,827 per pupil, Bessemer Area School District ranks #399 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
359
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$12,827
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Bessemer Area School District operates 2 public schools serving 359 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary, 1 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 Gogebic County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,827 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 19.7% local, 68.2% state, and 12.1% 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 67/100, ranked #114 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 686:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 42.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 85.3% White, 2.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Washington School, enrolling 179 students (52% of the district's total enrollment).
Washington School accounts for 49.9% of all Bessemer Area School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Bessemer Area School District a distant remainder — means Bessemer Area 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.
Bessemer Area School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 61.0% 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.
Bessemer Area School District student-counselor ratio is 686:1 — 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.
Bessemer Area School District chronic absenteeism rate is 42.0% — 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 Bessemer Area School District'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 Bessemer Area School District?
Bessemer Area School District has 2 schools, including 1 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 359 students.
How much does Bessemer Area School District spend per student?
Bessemer Area School District spends $12,827 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #114 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Bessemer Area School District?
Bessemer Area School District students are 85.3% White, 2.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Bessemer Area School District?
Bessemer Area School District has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #114 out of 707 districts in Michigan.