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Centre, Alabama - 7 schools
An equity score of 52/100 ranks Cherokee County #71 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,235 per pupil, Cherokee County ranks #65 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,886
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$12,235
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cherokee County operates 7 public schools serving 3,886 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 1 elementary, 1 high 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 Cherokee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,235 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 27.4% local, 54.8% state, and 17.8% 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 52/100, ranked #71 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 403.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 22.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 88.7% White, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 3.7% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Centre Elementary School, with a diversity index of 33.1/100.
Its largest campus is Sand Rock High School, enrolling 783 students (20% of the district's total enrollment).
Sand Rock High School accounts for 20.1% of all Cherokee County student enrollment
That concentration means Cherokee County-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Cherokee County school enrollment varies 2.3× across entities
Cherokee County school enrollment ranges from 341 students (lowest) to 783 students (highest), a spread of 442 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Cherokee County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 62.3% 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.
Cherokee County student-counselor ratio is 403:1 — 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.
Cherokee County chronic absenteeism rate is 22.0% — 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 Cherokee County is typically wider than the Cherokee County-aggregate figure suggests.
Cherokee County has 7 schools, including 5 combined, 1 elementary, 1 high. Total enrollment is 3,886 students.
How much does Cherokee County spend per student?
Cherokee County spends $12,235 per student. The district has an equity score of 52/100, ranking #71 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Cherokee County?
Cherokee County students are 88.7% White, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 3.7% African American, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cherokee County?
Cherokee County has an equity score of 52/100, ranking #71 out of 146 districts in Alabama.