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Zion, Illinois - 2 schools
An equity score of 39/100 ranks Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 #366 of 763 districts in Illinois (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,920 per pupil, Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 ranks #179 of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending (Illinois districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,496
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$19,920
Per-Pupil Spending
High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 operates 2 public schools serving 2,496 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Illinois. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 high 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 Lake County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,920 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending. See how Illinois compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 46.8% local, 44.9% state, and 8.3% 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 39/100, ranked #366 of 763 in Illinois against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (18 AP courses district-wide), a 326.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 26.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 58.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% African American, 11.3% White across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Zion-Benton Twnshp Hi Sch, enrolling 2,114 students (83% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is New Tech High - Zion-Benton East, at 419 students, a 5x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Zion-Benton Twnshp Hi Sch accounts for 83.5% of all Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 a distant remainder — means Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126-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.
Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 student-counselor ratio is 327:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 is typically wider than the Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126-aggregate figure suggests.
Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 chronic absenteeism rate is 26.8% — 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 Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126 is typically wider than the Zion-Benton Twp Hsd 126-aggregate figure suggests.