District profile / Washington

Bethel School District

Spanaway, Washington · Public school district · #11 of 150 Washington districts by enrollment

Compare with peers

21,450

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$14,669

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · about the same as the Washington median

18.5

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Washington median 18.3

Bethel School District is a public school district based in Spanaway, Washington, serving 21,450 students in 36 schools. By enrollment it ranks #11 of the 150 Washington districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 93% of them. Its schools average 596 students each, more than the Washington median of 435. It spends about $14,669 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 18.5 students per teacher.

How Bethel compares

BethelWashington median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$14,669

Washington median $14,904 · about the same · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$8,393

Washington median $8,883 · 6% below · FY2020-21

Students per school596

Washington median 435 · 37% above · 2024-25

Students per teacher18.5

Washington median 18.3 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor499

Washington median 368 · 36% above · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$349.1 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 7%State 69%Local 24%

Measure	Bethel	Washington median	Year
Current spending per student	$14,669	$14,904	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$8,393	$8,883	FY2020-21
Total spending	$362.0 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$349.1 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	1,160	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	2,340	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	18.5	18.3	2024-25
Students per counselor	499	368	2024-25

Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The Washington median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

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Peer districts in Washington

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Federal Way School DistrictFederal Way	22,250	46	$15,743	18.3	#8
Vancouver School DistrictVancouver	21,783	45	$14,904	19.2	#9
Evergreen School District (Clark)Vancouver	21,603	39	$15,358	17.0	#10
Bethel School DistrictSpanaway · this district	21,450	36	$14,669	18.5	#11
Edmonds School DistrictLynnwood	20,955	38	$15,949	18.7	#12

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Kansas CityKansas City, KS	21,538	$13,315	15.4
Tustin UnifiedTustin, CA	21,342	$12,042	25.7
Rapides ParishAlexandria, LA	21,340	$12,819	13.6
Bibb CountyMacon, GA	21,334	$12,686	13.8

Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.

Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-wa-bethel-school-district