Enrollment
575
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Benton, ME
Benton Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Benton Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 231433001037
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 29
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Benton Elementary School earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of Maine schools.
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.5:1
- large classes for Maine
- 33.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 575
- students enrolled
Benton Elementary School has class sizes larger than 79% of Maine schools. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.8%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Benton Elementary School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Benton Elementary School
Benton Elementary School is a large elementary school in Benton, Maine, enrolling 575 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 33.8% lands close to the Maine typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Maine, bigger than 91% of state schools at 575 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 94 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #66.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment) (diversity index 15/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 288 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Rsu 49/Msad 49 spends $15,661 per pupil, 22% below the Maine average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Rsu 49/Msad 49 also operates Lawrence High School (531 students) and Lawrence Jr High School (276 students) alongside Benton Elementary School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Benton Elementary School compares
Benton Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▲ 13% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.8% | ▼ 1% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 575 | top 9% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
575
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% below the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 13% above state mean
Top 79% in Maine - lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,661
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maine avg of $20,083
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 288 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 92.0%
Hispanic or Latino 3.3%
Two or More 2.8%
African American 0.7%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 92.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.2, Benton Elementary School is less mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 49/Msad 49, which includes Benton Elementary School.
$15,661
Per student
-22%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.5%
State 51.6%
Federal 14.9%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Benton Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Lawrence Jr High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Clinton Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Albion Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Fairfield Primary School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Benton Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 531
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 276
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 252
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 126
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 112
- Students per teacher
- 11.2:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~575 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Benton Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Benton Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Rsu 49/Msad 49's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Benton Elementary School
How many students attend Benton Elementary School?
Benton Elementary School has 575 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Benton, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benton Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Benton Elementary School is 12.5:1, which is 13% higher than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Benton Elementary School?
33.8% of students at Benton Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Benton Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Benton Elementary School is White at 92.0% of enrollment, in Benton, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Benton Elementary School?
Benton Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Benton Elementary School a good school?
Benton Elementary School earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of Maine schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Rsu 49/Msad 49?
Besides Benton Elementary School, Rsu 49/Msad 49 also operates Lawrence High School (531 students), Lawrence Jr High School (276 students), and Clinton Elementary School (252 students). See the Rsu 49/Msad 49 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.