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Cave City, Arkansas - 3 schools
An equity score of 61/100 ranks Cave City School District #81 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,432 per pupil, Cave City School District ranks #149 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,235
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$11,432
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cave City School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,235 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. 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 Sharp County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,432 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 21.5% local, 56.1% state, and 22.5% 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 61/100, ranked #81 of 250 in Arkansas 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 (5 AP courses district-wide), a 403.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 16.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.0% White, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory, with a diversity index of 20.7/100.
Its largest campus is Cave City Elementary School, enrolling 605 students (49% of the district's total enrollment).
Cave City Elementary School accounts for 48.8% of all Cave City School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Cave City School District a distant remainder — means Cave City School District-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.
Cave City School District school enrollment varies 2.3× across entities
Cave City School District school enrollment ranges from 259 students (lowest) to 605 students (highest), a spread of 346 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.
Cave City School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 56.2% 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.
Cave City School District student-counselor ratio is 404:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Cave City School District chronic absenteeism rate is 16.3% — 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 Cave City School District is typically wider than the Cave City School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Cave City School District?
Cave City School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,235 students.
How much does Cave City School District spend per student?
Cave City School District spends $11,432 per student. The district has an equity score of 61/100, ranking #81 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Cave City School District?
Cave City School District students are 91.0% White, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% African American, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cave City School District?
Cave City School District has an equity score of 61/100, ranking #81 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.