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Paragould, Arkansas - 7 schools
An equity score of 41/100 ranks Paragould School District #168 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,878 per pupil, Paragould School District ranks #189 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,217
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$10,878
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Paragould School District operates 7 public schools serving 3,217 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 1 high, 1 combined, 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 Greene County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,878 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 27.3% local, 51.6% state, and 21.1% 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 41/100, ranked #168 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 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 346.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 58.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 73.9% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Woodrow Wilson Elem. School, with a diversity index of 55.1/100.
Its largest campus is Paragould High School, enrolling 881 students (28% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Baldwin Elementary School, at 221 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Paragould High School accounts for 27.4% of all Paragould School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Paragould 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.
Paragould School District school enrollment varies 4.0× across entities
Paragould School District school enrollment ranges from 221 students (lowest) to 881 students (highest), a spread of 660 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.
Paragould 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.
Paragould School District student-counselor ratio is 346:1 — 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 Paragould School District is typically wider than the Paragould School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Paragould School District chronic absenteeism rate is 58.6% — 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.
How many schools are in Paragould School District?
Paragould School District has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,217 students.
How much does Paragould School District spend per student?
Paragould School District spends $10,878 per student. The district has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #168 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Paragould School District?
Paragould School District students are 73.9% White, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Paragould School District?
Paragould School District has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #168 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.