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Van Buren, Arkansas - 11 schools
An equity score of 32/100 ranks Van Buren School District #201 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,226 per pupil, Van Buren School District ranks #169 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,911
Total Enrollment
11
Schools
$11,226
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Van Buren School District operates 11 public schools serving 5,911 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 3 combined, 2 high, 2 middle 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 Crawford County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,226 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 28.9% local, 49.4% state, and 21.6% 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 32/100, ranked #201 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 11 schools offering Advanced Placement (19 AP courses district-wide), a 420.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 41.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 64.3% White, 20.0% Hispanic or Latino, 2.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is King Elementary School, with a diversity index of 65.7/100.
Its largest campus is Van Buren High School, enrolling 1,232 students (22% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is River Valley Virtual Academy, at 79 students, a 16x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Van Buren High School accounts for 20.8% of all Van Buren School District student enrollment
That concentration means Van Buren 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.
Van Buren School District school enrollment varies 16× across entities
Van Buren School District school enrollment ranges from 79 students (lowest) to 1,232 students (highest), a spread of 1,153 students. That spread 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.
Van Buren School District student-counselor ratio is 421:1 — 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.
Van Buren School District chronic absenteeism rate is 41.3% — 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 Van Buren School District?
Van Buren School District has 11 schools, including 2 high, 2 middle, 4 elementary, 3 combined. Total enrollment is 5,911 students.
How much does Van Buren School District spend per student?
Van Buren School District spends $11,226 per student. The district has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #201 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Van Buren School District?
Van Buren School District students are 64.3% White, 20.0% Hispanic or Latino, 2.0% African American, 1.6% Asian, averaged across 11 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Van Buren School District?
Van Buren School District has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #201 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.