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Royalton, Vermont - 4 schools
An equity score of 48/100 ranks White River Unified School District #79 #47 of 80 districts in Vermont (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,205 per pupil, White River Unified School District #79 ranks #70 of 102 Vermont districts by per-pupil spending (Vermont districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
629
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$16,205
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
White River Unified School District #79 operates 4 public schools serving 629 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Vermont. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Windsor County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,205 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 102 Vermont districts by per-pupil spending. See how Vermont compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 6.8% local, 92.3% state, and 0.9% 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 48/100, ranked #47 of 80 in Vermont against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 172:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 43.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 96.0% White, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is White River Valley High School, with a diversity index of 14.4/100.
White River Valley High School accounts for 34.5% of all White River Unified School District #79 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means White River Unified School District #79-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.
White River Unified School District #79 student-counselor ratio is 172:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
White River Unified School District #79 chronic absenteeism rate is 43.4% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Comparisons are relative to White River Unified School District #79's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Vermont
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in White River Unified School District #79?
White River Unified School District #79 has 4 schools, including 1 high, 2 combined, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 629 students.
How much does White River Unified School District #79 spend per student?
White River Unified School District #79 spends $16,205 per student. The district has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #47 in Vermont.
What is the demographic composition of White River Unified School District #79?
White River Unified School District #79 students are 96.0% White, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for White River Unified School District #79?
White River Unified School District #79 has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #47 out of 80 districts in Vermont.