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Elizabethtown, North Carolina - 13 schools
An equity score of 74/100 ranks Bladen County Schools #34 of 293 districts in North Carolina (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,797 per pupil, Bladen County Schools ranks #70 of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (North Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,983
Total Enrollment
13
Schools
$13,797
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Bladen County Schools operates 13 public schools serving 3,983 students, placing it among the smaller districts in North Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 5 elementary, 3 high schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Bladen County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,797 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 322 North Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how North Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 14.4% local, 59.5% state, and 26.1% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 74/100, ranked #34 of 293 in North Carolina against a state average of 45, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 13 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 360.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 24.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 34.2% African American, 31.3% White, 25.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Tar Heel Middle, with a diversity index of 70.9/100.
Its largest campus is West Bladen High, enrolling 720 students (18% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is East Arcadia Elementary, at 68 students, a 11x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
West Bladen High accounts for 17.5% of all Bladen County Schools student enrollment
That concentration means Bladen County Schools-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.
Bladen County Schools school enrollment varies 11× across entities
Bladen County Schools school enrollment ranges from 68 students (lowest) to 720 students (highest), a spread of 652 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Bladen County Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 98.4% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Bladen County Schools student-counselor ratio is 361:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Bladen County Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 24.4% — 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 Bladen County Schools is typically wider than the Bladen County Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Bladen County Schools has 13 schools, including 3 high, 5 combined, 5 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,983 students.
How much does Bladen County Schools spend per student?
Bladen County Schools spends $13,797 per student. The district has an equity score of 74/100, ranking #34 in North Carolina.
What is the demographic composition of Bladen County Schools?
Bladen County Schools students are 34.2% African American, 31.3% White, 25.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 13 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Bladen County Schools?
Bladen County Schools has an equity score of 74/100, ranking #34 out of 293 districts in North Carolina.