Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Sebring, Florida - 22 schools
An equity score of 63/100 ranks Highlands #16 of 67 districts in Florida (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,585 per pupil, Highlands ranks #21 of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending (Florida districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Highlands operates 22 public schools serving 12,362 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Florida. The school portfolio breaks down into 16 combined, 3 high, 2 middle, 1 elementary schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Highlands County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,585 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending. See how Florida compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.5% local, 39.8% state, and 29.7% 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 63/100, ranked #16 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 5 of 22 schools offering Advanced Placement (42 AP courses district-wide), a 568:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 38.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 39.6% Hispanic or Latino, 35.7% White, 19.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sun 'N Lake Elementary School, with a diversity index of 71.3/100.
Its largest campus is Sebring High School, enrolling 1,849 students (15% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Highlands County Schools Jail Program, at 2 students, a 925x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Highlands school enrollment ranges from 2 students (lowest) to 1,849 students (highest), a spread of 1,847 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.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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.
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.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 22 schools in Highlands.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Highlands's schools, above the Florida average of 52.3.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Florida districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nassau | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Walton | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Flagler | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Hendry | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Putnam | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Highlands's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Miami-Dade →Highlands has 22 schools, including 3 high, 2 middle, 16 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 12,362 students.
Highlands spends $12,585 per student. The district has an equity score of 63/100, ranking #16 in Florida.
Highlands students are 39.6% Hispanic or Latino, 35.7% White, 19.6% African American, 1.2% Asian, averaged across 22 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Highlands has an equity score of 63/100, ranking #16 out of 67 districts in Florida.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.