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Van Buren, Missouri - 2 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Van Buren R-I #162 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,495 per pupil, Van Buren R-I ranks #418 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
516
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$10,495
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Van Buren R-I operates 2 public schools serving 516 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined 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 Carter County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,495 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 40.6% local, 39.5% state, and 19.9% 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 57/100, ranked #162 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.
a 116.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 27.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 96.1% White, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Van Buren Elem., enrolling 245 students (53% of the district's total enrollment).
Van Buren Elem. accounts for 47.5% of all Van Buren R-I student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Van Buren R-I a distant remainder — means Van Buren R-I-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.
Van Buren R-I has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 52.9% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants 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.
Van Buren R-I student-counselor ratio is 117:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 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.
Van Buren R-I chronic absenteeism rate is 27.1% — 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 Van Buren R-I is typically wider than the Van Buren R-I-aggregate figure suggests.
Van Buren R-I has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 516 students.
How much does Van Buren R-I spend per student?
Van Buren R-I spends $10,495 per student. The district has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #162 in Missouri.
What is the demographic composition of Van Buren R-I?
Van Buren R-I students are 96.1% White, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Van Buren R-I?
Van Buren R-I has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #162 out of 432 districts in Missouri.