Growth Information

Growth Creates Need for a Bond Issue

As Bennington Public Schools continue to attract families to our community, the increase in students places a strain on current facilities and class size. The larger populated elementary schools use every space and create new ones to hold classes like art, music, and computers which are without designated spaces.

Charts for Enrollment Growth. Contact BPS for specific numbers

Bennington Public Schools by the Numbers

Bennington Public Schools has the lowest cost per student in the state of Nebraska at $10,860, which is $3,635 below the state average.
Rated an Excellent school district by the Nebraska Department of Education for the last three years.
Elementary class size averages 21 students per teacher over the last five years.
67% of Bennington students meet or exceed the state standards in Math compared to 46% across Nebraska.
66% of Bennington students meet or exceed the state standards in English Language Arts compared to 48% across Nebraska.
87% of Bennington’s graduates go on to post-secondary programs compared to 75% across Nebraska.
Bennington’s students composite ACT score is 23.0, higher than both the state and national average.

This District has grown from approximately 17 acres to 220 acres for school sites.
11 AP courses are offered at Bennington High School. BHS has been named to the AP School Honor Roll.
65% of high school graduates participate in athletics, fine arts, or other activities.
The District’s facilities have grown from 73,400 sq. ft. in 2004 to over 820,309 sq. ft. (does not include the warehouse or bus barn).
The district has approximately 500 employees for the 2022-23 school year which is an increase of 300% over the last 14 years.
Personnel costs make up approximately 78% of the total budget.
There has been $198.09 million in bonds issued since 2003.
There has been a refinancing of bonds to save nearly $7.6 million.

The 2021-22 General Fund Levy is $1.05 with a Bond Fund Levy of $0.34 for a total levy of $1.426. The combined levy for 2004-2005 was $1.28.
The 2021-22 budget was $42,497,359; the 2004-2005 budget was $4,773,486.
The total levy increased 11.4% since 2004, while enrollment has grown 550%.
Our reliance on State Aid has grown from $571,443 to $17,429,266 since 2006.
The ten-year average of assessed valuation growth is 9.63%.
The District operated seven (7) buses transporting 297 students (22.0% of enrollment) in 2010-11. The District currently operates 17 buses transporting 860 students (22.1% of enrollment) in 2021-22.
The District had approximately 150 computers for students and staff in 2004-05. Today we have approximately 4,100 computers distributed amongst all students and staff.