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Columbia, Pennsylvania - 4 schools
An equity score of 60/100 ranks Columbia Borough Sd #213 of 648 districts in Pennsylvania (state average 49). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,384 per pupil, Columbia Borough Sd ranks #324 of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending (Pennsylvania districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,249
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$17,384
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Columbia Borough Sd operates 4 public schools serving 1,249 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Pennsylvania. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 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 Lancaster County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,384 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending. See how Pennsylvania compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 37.9% local, 44.5% state, and 17.6% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 60/100, ranked #213 of 648 in Pennsylvania against a state average of 49, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 354.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 33.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 41.9% Hispanic or Latino, 36.5% White, 9.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Columbia Ms Taylor Campus, with a diversity index of 68.3/100.
Its largest campus is Park El Sch, enrolling 511 students (39% of the district's total enrollment).
Park El Sch accounts for 38.9% of all Columbia Borough Sd student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Columbia Borough Sd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Columbia Borough Sd school enrollment varies 2.5× across entities
Columbia Borough Sd school enrollment ranges from 202 students (lowest) to 511 students (highest), a spread of 309 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.
Columbia Borough Sd has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 84.5% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — 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.
Columbia Borough Sd student-counselor ratio is 355:1 — 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.
Columbia Borough Sd chronic absenteeism rate is 33.2% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Columbia Borough Sd has 4 schools, including 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,249 students.
How much does Columbia Borough Sd spend per student?
Columbia Borough Sd spends $17,384 per student. The district has an equity score of 60/100, ranking #213 in Pennsylvania.
What is the demographic composition of Columbia Borough Sd?
Columbia Borough Sd students are 41.9% Hispanic or Latino, 36.5% White, 9.8% African American, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Columbia Borough Sd?
Columbia Borough Sd has an equity score of 60/100, ranking #213 out of 648 districts in Pennsylvania.