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Fort Smith School District, Arkansas

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Fort Smith School District
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District details
School board members: 7
Students: 14,060 (2023-2024)
Schools: 27 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Fort Smith School District is a school district in Arkansas (Sebastian County). During the 2024 school year, 14,060 students attended one of the district's 27 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, finances, academics, students, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
School board Elections Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

School board

The Fort Smith School District consists of seven members serving five-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Gregory CarthonZone IV
Susan KrafftZone III2029
Lynnett LottZone II2029
Dalton PersonZone V2027
Phil WhiteakerZone I2026
Matt BlaylockAt-large Position 62025
Davin ChitwoodAt-large Position 72025

Elections

Click here for more information about any school board elections that Ballotpedia has covered in this district.

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District map

School district map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $40,745,000 $2,836 20%
Local: $71,273,000 $4,962 35%
State: $89,201,000 $6,210 44%
Total: $201,219,000 $14,008
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $224,493,000 $15,627
Total Current Expenditures: $175,335,000 $12,205
Instructional Expenditures: $94,637,000 $6,588 42%
Student and Staff Support: $32,901,000 $2,290 15%
Administration: $16,906,000 $1,176 8%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $30,891,000 $2,150 14%
Total Capital Outlay: $35,980,000 $2,504
Construction: $21,000 $1
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $2,158,000 $150
Interest on Debt: $10,583,000 $736


Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 35 54 16 26 35-39 36 46
2018-2019 46 62 29 36 45-49 48 57
2017-2018 47 59 30 38 40-44 49 58
2016-2017 47 61 29 38 35-39 50 58
2015-2016 43 57 27 34 35-39 44 53
2014-2015 24 43 9 15 15-19 28 32
2013-2014 72 82 56 65 70-74 PS 79
2012-2013 74 83 58 69 75-79 76 80
2011-2012 76 88 60 69 70-74 69 82
2010-2011 73 84 57 65 75-79 70-74 80

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 39 56 23 30 40-44 45 49
2018-2019 46 60 31 36 50-54 52 56
2017-2018 47 56 28 36 40-44 52 59
2016-2017 54 71 36 43 45-49 61 64
2015-2016 48 61 29 35 40-44 55 60
2014-2015 35 49 18 22 30-34 40 46
2013-2014 77 86 68 69 70-74 83
2012-2013 78 87 70 70 75-79 82 84
2011-2012 77 86 68 69 75-79 70-74 85
2010-2011 71 77 58 61 75-79 70-74 79

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 90 >=95 85-89 91 >=80 85-89 90
2018-2019 90 >=95 90-94 90 >=50 85-89 89
2017-2018 89 >=95 80-84 88 >=50 85-89 90
2016-2017 86 >=95 80-84 83 >=50 80-89 88
2015-2016 85 90-94 80-84 85-89 >=80 80-84 86
2014-2015 81 >=95 75-79 81 >=50 85-89 81
2013-2014 81 90-94 80-84 75-79 40-59 85-89 81
2012-2013 77 90-94 75-79 75-79 <50 70-74 77
2011-2012 72 75-79 60-64 70-74 60-79 65-69 76
2010-2011 70 80-84 55-59 60-64 60-79 70-79 72


Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 14,060 -1.6
2022-2023 14,291 -0.5
2021-2022 14,365 0.0
2020-2021 14,361 -2.7
2019-2020 14,748 0.3
2018-2019 14,701 -0.6
2017-2018 14,785 -0.7
2016-2017 14,888 -0.2
2015-2016 14,919 1.4
2014-2015 14,711 0.1
2013-2014 14,702 2.2
2012-2013 14,374 1.6
2011-2012 14,146 0.3
2010-2011 14,107 0.7
2009-2010 14,010 0.4
2008-2009 13,958 0.1
2007-2008 13,938 1.5
2006-2007 13,731 2.2
2005-2006 13,430 3.5
2004-2005 12,957 0.7
2003-2004 12,865 0.2
2002-2003 12,844 1.9
2001-2002 12,596 -0.3
2000-2001 12,637 1.7
1999-2000 12,427 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Fort Smith School District (%) Arkansas K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.8 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 4.8 1.8
Black 9.8 19.5
Hispanic 36.2 14.6
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 1.0
Two or More Races 11.5 4.7
White 36.8 57.8

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Fort Smith School District had 980.38 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 14.34.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 20.00
Kindergarten: 58.61
Elementary: 426.45
Secondary: 396.79
Total: 980.38

Fort Smith School District employed 19.50 district administrators and 60.50 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 19.50
District Administrative Support: 103.40
School Administrators: 60.50
School Administrative Support: 130.20
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 351.40
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 16.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 40.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 20.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 20.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 28.00
Library/Media Support: 17.50
Student Support Services: 308.57
Other Support Services: 369.00


Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Fort Smith School District operates 27 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Ballman Elementary School284PK-5
Barling Elementary School347PK-5
Beard Elementary School287PK-5
Belle Point Alternative Center736-12
Bonneville Elementary School290PK-5
Carnall Elementary School203PK-5
Cavanaugh Elementary School298PK-5
Dora Kimmons Middle School8006-8
Elmer H. Cook Elementary School494PK-5
Euper Lane Elementary School401PK-5
Fairview Elementary School491PK-5
Fort Smith Virtual Academy133KG-12
Harry C. Morrison Elementary School418PK-5
Howard Elementary School253PK-5
John P. Woods Elementary School505PK-5
L. A. Chaffin Middle School6916-8
Northside High School2,2539-12
Park Elementary School359PK-5
Ramsey Middle School8086-8
Raymond F. Orr Elem. School309PK-5
Southside High School1,9709-12
Spradling Elementary School294PK-5
Sunnymede Elementary School503PK-5
Sutton Elementary School416PK-5
Tilles Elementary School341PK-5
Trusty Elementary School119KG-5
William O. Darby Middle School7206-8

About school boards

Education legislation in Arkansas

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Arkansas
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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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