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Van Meter, Iowa - 3 schools
An equity score of 9/100 ranks Van Meter Comm School District #299 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,282 per pupil, Van Meter Comm School District ranks #327 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,090
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$9,282
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Van Meter Comm School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,090 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Dallas County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,282 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 33 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 47.1% local, 45.5% state, and 7.4% 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 9/100, ranked #299 of 303 in Iowa 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 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 496.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 9.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.6% White, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Van Meter High School, with a diversity index of 17.3/100.
Its largest campus is Van Meter Elementary School, enrolling 578 students (50% of the district's total enrollment).
Van Meter Elementary School accounts for 50.4% of all Van Meter Comm School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Van Meter Comm School District a distant remainder — means Van Meter Comm School District-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 Meter Comm School District school enrollment varies 2.3× across entities
Van Meter Comm School District school enrollment ranges from 252 students (lowest) to 578 students (highest), a spread of 326 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.
Van Meter Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 497:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Van Meter Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 9.7% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Van Meter Comm School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Iowa
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Van Meter Comm School District?
Van Meter Comm School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,090 students.
How much does Van Meter Comm School District spend per student?
Van Meter Comm School District spends $9,282 per student. The district has an equity score of 9/100, ranking #299 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Van Meter Comm School District?
Van Meter Comm School District students are 92.6% White, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Van Meter Comm School District?
Van Meter Comm School District has an equity score of 9/100, ranking #299 out of 303 districts in Iowa.