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Princeton, Kentucky - 4 schools
An equity score of 26/100 ranks Caldwell County #150 of 171 districts in Kentucky (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,633 per pupil, Caldwell County ranks #151 of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending (Kentucky districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,891
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,633
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Caldwell County operates 4 public schools serving 1,891 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Kentucky. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Caldwell County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,633 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kentucky compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 21.0% local, 57.9% state, and 21.0% 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 26/100, ranked #150 of 171 in Kentucky against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 399.6:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 21.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.3% White, 5.8% African American, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Caldwell County Primary School, with a diversity index of 34.5/100.
Its largest campus is Caldwell County High School, enrolling 561 students (30% of the district's total enrollment).
Caldwell County High School accounts for 29.7% of all Caldwell County student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Caldwell County-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.
Caldwell County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 52.9% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants 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.
Caldwell County student-counselor ratio is 400:1 — 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.
Caldwell County chronic absenteeism rate is 21.4% — 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 Caldwell County is typically wider than the Caldwell County-aggregate figure suggests.
Caldwell County has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,891 students.
How much does Caldwell County spend per student?
Caldwell County spends $11,633 per student. The district has an equity score of 26/100, ranking #150 in Kentucky.
What is the demographic composition of Caldwell County?
Caldwell County students are 81.3% White, 5.8% African American, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Caldwell County?
Caldwell County has an equity score of 26/100, ranking #150 out of 171 districts in Kentucky.