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.
Chester, Illinois - 2 schools
An equity score of 33/100 ranks Chester Cusd 139 #503 of 763 districts in Illinois (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,457 per pupil, Chester Cusd 139 ranks #749 of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending (Illinois districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
939
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$12,457
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Chester Cusd 139 operates 2 public schools serving 939 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Illinois. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 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 Randolph County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,457 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending. See how Illinois compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 33.6% local, 54.3% 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 33/100, ranked #503 of 763 in Illinois against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 335:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 82.7% White, 13.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Chester Elem School, enrolling 640 students (66% of the district's total enrollment).
Chester Elem School accounts for 65.6% of all Chester Cusd 139 student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Chester Cusd 139 a distant remainder — means Chester Cusd 139-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.
Chester Cusd 139 student-counselor ratio is 335:1 — 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 Chester Cusd 139 is typically wider than the Chester Cusd 139-aggregate figure suggests.
Chester Cusd 139 chronic absenteeism rate is 20.4% — 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 Chester Cusd 139 is typically wider than the Chester Cusd 139-aggregate figure suggests.