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Marion, Arkansas - 5 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Marion School District #185 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,008 per pupil, Marion School District ranks #112 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,902
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,008
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Marion School District operates 5 public schools serving 3,902 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 2 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 Crittenden County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,008 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 39.0% local, 46.1% state, and 14.9% 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 37/100, ranked #185 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 518.2:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 44.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 58.5% African American, 27.4% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Herbert Carter Global Community Magnet School, with a diversity index of 65.3/100.
Its largest campus is Marion High School, enrolling 927 students (26% of the district's total enrollment).
Marion High School accounts for 23.8% of all Marion School District student enrollment
That concentration means Marion 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.
Marion School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 59.9% 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.
Marion School District student-counselor ratio is 518:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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.
Marion School District chronic absenteeism rate is 44.8% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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.
Marion School District has 5 schools, including 1 high, 2 combined, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,902 students.
How much does Marion School District spend per student?
Marion School District spends $12,008 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #185 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Marion School District?
Marion School District students are 58.5% African American, 27.4% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Marion School District?
Marion School District has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #185 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.