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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Bethel, Alaska - 29 schools
An equity score of 65/100 ranks Lower Kuskokwim School District #9 of 40 districts in Alaska (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $41,997 per pupil, Lower Kuskokwim School District ranks #15 of 53 Alaska districts by per-pupil spending (Alaska districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Lower Kuskokwim School District operates 29 public schools serving 3,970 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Alaska. The school portfolio breaks down into 27 combined, 1 elementary, 1 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Bethel Census Area.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $41,997 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 53 Alaska districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alaska compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 1.9% local, 63.3% state, and 34.8% 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 65/100, ranked #9 of 40 in Alaska against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 898.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 49.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 1.8% White, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Bethel Youth Facility, with a diversity index of 35.0/100.
Its largest campus is Bethel Regional High School, enrolling 410 students (11% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Arviq School, at 6 students, a 68x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lower Kuskokwim School District school enrollment ranges from 6 students (lowest) to 410 students (highest), a spread of 404 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share is above 87.5%, so economic need is widespread across the measured student population. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 29 schools in Lower Kuskokwim School District.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Lower Kuskokwim School District's schools, below the Alaska average of 43.0.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Alaska districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juneau Borough School District | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Yukon-Koyukuk School District | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
| Kodiak Island Borough School District | Smaller | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District | Smaller | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| North Slope Borough School District | Smaller | Similar spending | More locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Lower Kuskokwim School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Anchorage School District →Lower Kuskokwim School District has 29 schools, including 27 combined, 1 elementary, 1 high. Total enrollment is 3,970 students.
Lower Kuskokwim School District spends $41,997 per student. The district has an equity score of 65/100, ranking #9 in Alaska.
Lower Kuskokwim School District students are 1.8% White, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% African American, averaged across 29 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Lower Kuskokwim School District has an equity score of 65/100, ranking #9 out of 40 districts in Alaska.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.