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Lake City, Florida - 17 schools
An equity score of 59/100 ranks Columbia #25 of 67 districts in Florida (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,799 per pupil, Columbia ranks #41 of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending (Florida districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
9,887
Total Enrollment
17
Schools
$10,799
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Columbia operates 17 public schools serving 9,887 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Florida. The school portfolio breaks down into 14 combined, 2 middle, 1 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 Columbia County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,799 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending. See how Florida compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 20.7% local, 52.5% state, and 26.9% 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 59/100, ranked #25 of 67 in Florida against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 17 schools offering Advanced Placement (37 AP courses district-wide), a 513:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 37.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 55.8% White, 24.9% African American, 10.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Summers Elementary School, with a diversity index of 67.5/100.
Its largest campus is Columbia High School, enrolling 1,711 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Prek Ese, at 7 students, a 244x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Columbia High School accounts for 17.3% of all Columbia student enrollment
That concentration means Columbia-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.
Columbia school enrollment varies 244× across entities
Columbia school enrollment ranges from 7 students (lowest) to 1,711 students (highest), a spread of 1,704 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Columbia has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.6% 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.
Columbia student-counselor ratio is 513:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Columbia chronic absenteeism rate is 37.0% — 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 has 17 schools, including 1 high, 14 combined, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 9,887 students.
How much does Columbia spend per student?
Columbia spends $10,799 per student. The district has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #25 in Florida.
What is the demographic composition of Columbia?
Columbia students are 55.8% White, 24.9% African American, 10.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 17 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Columbia?
Columbia has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #25 out of 67 districts in Florida.