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Cortland, New York - 5 schools
An equity score of 54/100 ranks Cortland City School District #329 of 941 districts in New York (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $23,108 per pupil, Cortland City School District ranks #654 of 999 New York districts by per-pupil spending (New York districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,957
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$23,108
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cortland City School District operates 5 public schools serving 1,957 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New York. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 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 Cortland County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $23,108 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 999 New York districts by per-pupil spending. See how New York compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 28.0% local, 53.6% state, and 18.4% 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 54/100, ranked #329 of 941 in New York against a state average of 45, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (28 AP courses district-wide), a 99.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 38.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.9% White, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Cortland Junior High School, with a diversity index of 30.0/100.
Its largest campus is Cortland High School, enrolling 582 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Cortland High School accounts for 29.7% of all Cortland City School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Cortland City School District-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.
Cortland City School District school enrollment varies 2.1× across entities
Cortland City School District school enrollment ranges from 272 students (lowest) to 582 students (highest), a spread of 310 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.
Cortland City School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 54.9% 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.
Cortland City School District student-counselor ratio is 100:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Cortland City School District chronic absenteeism rate is 38.0% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Cortland City School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in New York
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Cortland City School District?
Cortland City School District has 5 schools, including 1 high, 3 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,957 students.
How much does Cortland City School District spend per student?
Cortland City School District spends $23,108 per student. The district has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #329 in New York.
What is the demographic composition of Cortland City School District?
Cortland City School District students are 86.9% White, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cortland City School District?
Cortland City School District has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #329 out of 941 districts in New York.