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Ponca, Nebraska - 3 schools
An equity score of 49/100 ranks Ponca Public Schools #103 of 200 districts in Nebraska (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,295 per pupil, Ponca Public Schools ranks #159 of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending (Nebraska districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
442
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$15,295
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Ponca Public Schools operates 3 public schools serving 442 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Nebraska. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 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 Dixon County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,295 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending. See how Nebraska compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 58.8% local, 33.2% state, and 8.0% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 49/100, ranked #103 of 200 in Nebraska against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 248.7:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 6.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 94.3% White, 2.1% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ponca Elementary School, with a diversity index of 13.4/100.
Its largest campus is Ponca High School, enrolling 198 students (45% of the district's total enrollment).
Ponca High School accounts for 44.8% of all Ponca Public Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Ponca Public Schools-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.
Ponca Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 249:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Ponca Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 6.9% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Ponca Public Schools has 3 schools, including 2 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 442 students.
How much does Ponca Public Schools spend per student?
Ponca Public Schools spends $15,295 per student. The district has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #103 in Nebraska.
What is the demographic composition of Ponca Public Schools?
Ponca Public Schools students are 94.3% White, 2.1% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Ponca Public Schools?
Ponca Public Schools has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #103 out of 200 districts in Nebraska.