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.
Hardy, Arkansas - 3 schools
An equity score of 70/100 ranks Highland School District #49 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,909 per pupil, Highland School District ranks #70 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,612
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$12,909
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Highland School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,612 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary 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 $12,909 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 25.9% local, 44.6% state, and 29.6% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 70/100, ranked #49 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 (9 AP courses district-wide), a 346.7:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 31.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 93.4% White, 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Highland High School, with a diversity index of 15.5/100.
Its largest campus is Cherokee Elementary School, enrolling 581 students (39% of the district's total enrollment).
Cherokee Elementary School accounts for 36.0% of all Highland School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Highland 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.
Highland 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.
Highland School District student-counselor ratio is 347:1 — 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 Highland School District is typically wider than the Highland School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Highland School District chronic absenteeism rate is 31.0% — 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.
Highland School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,612 students.
How much does Highland School District spend per student?
Highland School District spends $12,909 per student. The district has an equity score of 70/100, ranking #49 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Highland School District?
Highland School District students are 93.4% White, 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Highland School District?
Highland School District has an equity score of 70/100, ranking #49 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.