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Vernon, Alabama - 4 schools
An equity score of 43/100 ranks Lamar County #99 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,840 per pupil, Lamar County ranks #127 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,201
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$10,840
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lamar County operates 4 public schools serving 2,201 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 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 Lamar County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,840 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 20.0% local, 65.7% state, and 14.3% 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 43/100, ranked #99 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (11 AP courses district-wide), a 447.2:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 20.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 83.0% White, 10.7% African American, 2.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Vernon Elementary School, with a diversity index of 36.1/100.
Its largest campus is Sulligent School, enrolling 684 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Sulligent School accounts for 31.1% of all Lamar County student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Lamar County-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.
Lamar County school enrollment varies 2.5× across entities
Lamar County school enrollment ranges from 277 students (lowest) to 684 students (highest), a spread of 407 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.
Lamar County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 58.6% 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). 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.
Lamar County student-counselor ratio is 447:1 — 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.
Lamar County chronic absenteeism rate is 20.2% — 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 Lamar County is typically wider than the Lamar County-aggregate figure suggests.
Lamar County has 4 schools, including 4 combined. Total enrollment is 2,201 students.
How much does Lamar County spend per student?
Lamar County spends $10,840 per student. The district has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #99 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Lamar County?
Lamar County students are 83.0% White, 10.7% African American, 2.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lamar County?
Lamar County has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #99 out of 146 districts in Alabama.