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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Fort Myers, Florida - 114 schools
An equity score of 24/100 ranks Lee #62 of 67 districts in Florida (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,788 per pupil, Lee ranks #43 of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending (Florida districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Lee operates 114 public schools serving 99,354 students, placing it among the largest districts in Florida. The school portfolio breaks down into 64 combined, 24 high, 17 middle, 9 elementary schools, giving families in a major system a clear picture of grade-band coverage across a large portfolio 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 $10,788 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending. See how Florida compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 58.0% local, 25.0% state, and 17.0% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 24/100, ranked #62 of 67 in Florida 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 16 of 114 schools offering Advanced Placement (139 AP courses district-wide), a 610.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 34.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 49.6% Hispanic or Latino, 31.8% White, 14.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Fort Myers High School, with a diversity index of 69.7/100.
Its largest campus is Gateway Charter Elementary School, enrolling 3,192 students (3% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Lee County Jail, at 4 students, a 798x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lee school enrollment ranges from 4 students (lowest) to 3,192 students (highest), a spread of 3,188 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 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.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection NCES Civil Rights Data Collection
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.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22
This district scores below average on funding equity. High reliance on local revenue or lower spending may contribute.
Average demographic composition across 114 schools in Lee.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Lee'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinellas | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Polk | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Pasco | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Brevard | Smaller | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Osceola | Smaller | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
Comparisons are relative to Lee'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.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Miami-Dade →Lee has 114 schools, including 64 combined, 24 high, 17 middle, 9 elementary. Total enrollment is 99,354 students.
Lee spends $10,788 per student. The district has an equity score of 24/100, ranking #62 in Florida.
Lee students are 49.6% Hispanic or Latino, 31.8% White, 14.0% African American, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 114 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Lee has an equity score of 24/100, ranking #62 out of 67 districts in Florida.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.