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Ashland, Alabama - 4 schools
An equity score of 50/100 ranks Clay County #79 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,232 per pupil, Clay County ranks #118 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,784
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,232
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Clay County operates 4 public schools serving 1,784 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Clay County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,232 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 15.7% local, 62.4% state, and 21.9% 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 50/100, ranked #79 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 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 432.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 24.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 69.5% White, 15.8% African American, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Central Jr High School of Clay County, with a diversity index of 53.1/100.
Central High School of Clay County accounts for 29.9% of all Clay County student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Clay 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.
Clay County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 68.5% 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 approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Clay County student-counselor ratio is 432:1 — 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.
Clay County chronic absenteeism rate is 24.9% — 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 Clay County is typically wider than the Clay County-aggregate figure suggests.
Clay County has 4 schools, including 1 high, 2 combined, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,784 students.
How much does Clay County spend per student?
Clay County spends $11,232 per student. The district has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #79 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Clay County?
Clay County students are 69.5% White, 15.8% African American, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Clay County?
Clay County has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #79 out of 146 districts in Alabama.