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.
West Columbia, South Carolina - 12 schools
An equity score of 48/100 ranks Lexington 02 #40 of 74 districts in South Carolina (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,535 per pupil, Lexington 02 ranks #37 of 75 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (South Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Lexington 02 operates 12 public schools serving 8,626 students, placing it among the smaller districts in South Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 4 middle, 2 high, 2 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 Lexington County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,535 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 75 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how South Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 41.1% local, 41.7% state, and 17.2% 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 48/100, ranked #40 of 74 in South Carolina against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 12 schools offering Advanced Placement (30 AP courses district-wide), a 415.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 29.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 32.3% White, 31.3% African American, 28.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Cyril B. Busbee Creative Arts Academy, with a diversity index of 72.4/100.
Its largest campus is Airport High, enrolling 1,272 students (15% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Congaree Elementary, at 352 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lexington 02 school enrollment ranges from 352 students (lowest) to 1,272 students (highest), a spread of 920 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.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share is above 87.5%, so economic need is widespread across the measured student population. 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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
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 Lexington 02 is typically wider than the Lexington 02-aggregate figure suggests.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 12 schools in Lexington 02.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Lexington 02's schools, above the South Carolina average of 52.7.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Airport High | 1,272 |
| Brookland-Cayce High | 1,212 |
| Riverbank Elementary | 996 |
| Cayce Elementary | 977 |
| Herbert a. Wood Elementary | 938 |
| Northside Middle | 528 |
| R. H. Fulmer Middle | 526 |
| Springdale Elementary | 443 |
| Cyril B. Busbee Creative Arts Academy | 442 |
| Saluda River Academy for the Arts | 400 |
| Pine Ridge Middle | 379 |
| Congaree Elementary | 352 |
The South Carolina districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenwood 50 | Similar size | Similar spending | Less locally funded |
| Georgetown 01 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Darlington 01 | Similar size | Higher spending | Similar funding mix |
| York 02 | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Cherokee 01 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Lexington 02'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 Greenville 01 →Lexington 02 has 12 schools, including 2 high, 4 combined, 4 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 8,626 students.
Lexington 02 spends $14,535 per student. The district has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #40 in South Carolina.
Lexington 02 students are 32.3% White, 31.3% African American, 28.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% Asian, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Lexington 02 has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #40 out of 74 districts in South Carolina.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.