Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Dayton, Tennessee - 7 schools
An equity score of 45/100 ranks Rhea County #41 of 140 districts in Tennessee (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,031 per pupil, Rhea County ranks #60 of 141 Tennessee districts by per-pupil spending (Tennessee districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,091
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$11,031
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Rhea County operates 7 public schools serving 4,091 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Tennessee. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 2 middle, 1 high, 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 Rhea County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,031 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 141 Tennessee districts by per-pupil spending. See how Tennessee compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 25.4% local, 52.4% state, and 22.2% 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 45/100, ranked #41 of 140 in Tennessee against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 413:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 15.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 83.5% White, 12.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Rhea Central Elementary, with a diversity index of 39.2/100.
Its largest campus is Rhea County High School, enrolling 1,332 students (34% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Graysville Elementary School, at 218 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Rhea County High School accounts for 32.6% of all Rhea County student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Rhea County-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.
Rhea County school enrollment varies 6.1× across entities
Rhea County school enrollment ranges from 218 students (lowest) to 1,332 students (highest), a spread of 1,114 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.
Rhea County student-counselor ratio is 413:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Rhea County chronic absenteeism rate is 15.9% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — 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 Variation between sub-units within Rhea County is typically wider than the Rhea County-aggregate figure suggests.
Rhea County has 7 schools, including 1 high, 3 combined, 2 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 4,091 students.
How much does Rhea County spend per student?
Rhea County spends $11,031 per student. The district has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #41 in Tennessee.
What is the demographic composition of Rhea County?
Rhea County students are 83.5% White, 12.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Rhea County?
Rhea County has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #41 out of 140 districts in Tennessee.