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Pine Bluff, Arkansas - 9 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Pine Bluff School District #60 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,873 per pupil, Pine Bluff School District ranks #18 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,261
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$15,873
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pine Bluff School District operates 9 public schools serving 3,261 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 3 combined, 2 high schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Jefferson County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,873 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 26 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 35.3% local, 38.1% state, and 26.6% 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 67/100, ranked #60 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 2 of 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (13 AP courses district-wide), a 269.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 40.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.8% African American, 2.4% White, 1.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Broadmoor Elementary School, with a diversity index of 19.6/100.
Its largest campus is Pine Bluff High School, enrolling 688 students (21% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Dollarway High School, at 163 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Pine Bluff High School accounts for 21.1% of all Pine Bluff School District student enrollment
That concentration means Pine Bluff 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.
Pine Bluff School District school enrollment varies 4.2× across entities
Pine Bluff School District school enrollment ranges from 163 students (lowest) to 688 students (highest), a spread of 525 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.
Pine Bluff School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 99.8% 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.
Pine Bluff School District student-counselor ratio is 269:1 — 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 Pine Bluff School District is typically wider than the Pine Bluff School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Pine Bluff School District chronic absenteeism rate is 40.6% — 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.
How many schools are in Pine Bluff School District?
Pine Bluff School District has 9 schools, including 2 high, 3 combined, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,261 students.
How much does Pine Bluff School District spend per student?
Pine Bluff School District spends $15,873 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #60 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Pine Bluff School District?
Pine Bluff School District students are 91.8% African American, 2.4% White, 1.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 9 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pine Bluff School District?
Pine Bluff School District has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #60 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.