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Opelika, Alabama - 14 schools
An equity score of 46/100 ranks Lee County #89 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,578 per pupil, Lee County ranks #94 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
9,312
Total Enrollment
14
Schools
$11,578
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lee County operates 14 public schools serving 9,312 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 9 combined, 3 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary 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 Lee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,578 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 32.3% local, 53.3% state, and 14.4% 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 46/100, ranked #89 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 4 of 14 schools offering Advanced Placement (27 AP courses district-wide), a 550.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 27.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 57.0% White, 24.7% African American, 11.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Loachapoka Elementary School, with a diversity index of 59.5/100.
Its largest campus is Smiths Station High School, enrolling 1,588 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Loachapoka High School, at 277 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Smiths Station High School accounts for 16.7% of all Lee County student enrollment
That concentration means Lee County-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.
Lee County school enrollment varies 5.7× across entities
Lee County school enrollment ranges from 277 students (lowest) to 1,588 students (highest), a spread of 1,311 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.
Lee County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 61.0% 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.
Lee County student-counselor ratio is 551:1 — 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.
Lee County chronic absenteeism rate is 27.1% — 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 Lee County is typically wider than the Lee County-aggregate figure suggests.
Lee County has 14 schools, including 3 high, 1 middle, 9 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 9,312 students.
How much does Lee County spend per student?
Lee County spends $11,578 per student. The district has an equity score of 46/100, ranking #89 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Lee County?
Lee County students are 57.0% White, 24.7% African American, 11.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 14 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lee County?
Lee County has an equity score of 46/100, ranking #89 out of 146 districts in Alabama.