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Elba, Alabama - 2 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Elba City #30 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,229 per pupil, Elba City ranks #66 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
685
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$12,229
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Elba City operates 2 public schools serving 685 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined 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 Coffee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,229 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 24.3% local, 68.5% state, and 7.2% 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 67/100, ranked #30 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 150.8:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 24.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 46.0% White, 45.0% African American, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Elba Elementary School, enrolling 379 students (63% of the district's total enrollment).
Elba Elementary School accounts for 55.3% of all Elba City student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Elba City a distant remainder — means Elba City-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.
Elba City has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.8% 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.
Elba City student-counselor ratio is 151:1 — 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.
Elba City chronic absenteeism rate is 24.6% — 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 Elba City is typically wider than the Elba City-aggregate figure suggests.
Elba City has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 685 students.
How much does Elba City spend per student?
Elba City spends $12,229 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #30 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Elba City?
Elba City students are 46.0% White, 45.0% African American, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Elba City?
Elba City has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #30 out of 146 districts in Alabama.