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Monticello, Arkansas - 3 schools
An equity score of 49/100 ranks Drew Central School District #129 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,308 per pupil, Drew Central School District ranks #159 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,262
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$11,308
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Drew Central School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,262 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 elementary, 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 Drew County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,308 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 25.1% local, 53.6% state, and 21.3% 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 49/100, ranked #129 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 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (5 AP courses district-wide), a 360.7:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.1% White, 23.5% African American, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Drew Central Elem. School, with a diversity index of 53.0/100.
Its largest campus is Drew Central Elem. School, enrolling 562 students (45% of the district's total enrollment).
Drew Central Elem. School accounts for 44.5% of all Drew Central School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Drew Central 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.
Drew Central School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% 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). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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.
Drew Central School District student-counselor ratio is 361:1 — 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.
Drew Central School District chronic absenteeism rate is 20.1% — 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 Drew Central School District is typically wider than the Drew Central School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Drew Central School District?
Drew Central School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 elementary, 1 high. Total enrollment is 1,262 students.
How much does Drew Central School District spend per student?
Drew Central School District spends $11,308 per student. The district has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #129 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Drew Central School District?
Drew Central School District students are 65.1% White, 23.5% African American, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Drew Central School District?
Drew Central School District has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #129 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.