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Dardanelle, Arkansas - 4 schools
An equity score of 53/100 ranks Dardanelle School District #107 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,626 per pupil, Dardanelle School District ranks #138 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,064
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,626
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Dardanelle School District operates 4 public schools serving 2,064 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 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 Yell County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,626 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 19.2% local, 62.7% state, and 18.2% 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 53/100, ranked #107 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 383.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 17.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 58.5% White, 34.4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Dardanelle Middle School, with a diversity index of 55.1/100.
Its largest campus is Dardanelle High School, enrolling 686 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Dardanelle High School accounts for 32.4% of all Dardanelle School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Dardanelle School District-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.
Dardanelle School District school enrollment varies 2.2× across entities
Dardanelle School District school enrollment ranges from 315 students (lowest) to 686 students (highest), a spread of 371 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.
Dardanelle School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 50.8% 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.
Dardanelle School District student-counselor ratio is 384:1 — 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.
Dardanelle School District chronic absenteeism rate is 17.7% — 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 Dardanelle School District is typically wider than the Dardanelle School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Dardanelle School District?
Dardanelle School District has 4 schools, including 1 high, 2 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 2,064 students.
How much does Dardanelle School District spend per student?
Dardanelle School District spends $11,626 per student. The district has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #107 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Dardanelle School District?
Dardanelle School District students are 58.5% White, 34.4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% African American, 0.6% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Dardanelle School District?
Dardanelle School District has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #107 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.