An equity score of 48/100 ranks Poplar Bluff R-I #234 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,549 per pupil, Poplar Bluff R-I ranks #411 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,204
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$10,549
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Poplar Bluff R-I operates 9 public schools serving 5,204 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined 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 Butler County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,549 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending. See how Missouri compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.8% local, 36.8% state, and 20.4% 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 48/100, ranked #234 of 432 in Missouri against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 338.6:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 24.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 73.6% White, 12.2% African American, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Eugene Field Elem., with a diversity index of 54.3/100.
Its largest campus is Poplar Bluff High, enrolling 1,416 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Eugene Field Elem., at 227 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Poplar Bluff High accounts for 27.2% of all Poplar Bluff R-I student enrollment
That concentration means Poplar Bluff R-I-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.
Poplar Bluff R-I school enrollment varies 6.2× across entities
Poplar Bluff R-I school enrollment ranges from 227 students (lowest) to 1,416 students (highest), a spread of 1,189 students. That spread sits on the tighter side of typical variation, though it still reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Poplar Bluff R-I has higher-than-average Title I eligibility: 84.5% 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). This area clears the 75% concentration-grant threshold, so it receives supplemental 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.
Poplar Bluff R-I student-counselor ratio is 339:1: slightly below the ~408 national average, 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 Sitting just under the national figure still leaves meaningful room for sub-unit variation that the aggregate number hides. Variation between sub-units within Poplar Bluff R-I is typically wider than the Poplar Bluff R-I-aggregate figure suggests.
Poplar Bluff R-I chronic absenteeism rate is 24.9%: slightly below the ~28 national average, aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Sitting just under the national figure still leaves meaningful room for sub-unit variation that the aggregate number hides. Variation between sub-units within Poplar Bluff R-I is typically wider than the Poplar Bluff R-I-aggregate figure suggests.