An equity score of 82/100 ranks Marengo County #7 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,598 per pupil, Marengo County ranks #14 of 147 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
953
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$16,598
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Marengo County operates 3 public schools serving 953 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 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 Marengo County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,598 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 15 of 147 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending. See how Alabama compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 25.4% local, 51.4% state, and 23.2% 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 82/100, ranked #7 of 146 in Alabama 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 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 747.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 18.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 77.4% African American, 21.1% White, 0.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sweet Water High School, with a diversity index of 51.1/100.
Its largest campus is Sweet Water High School, enrolling 600 students (62% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Amelia L Johnson High School, at 142 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Sweet Water High School accounts for 62.2% of all Marengo County student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Marengo County a distant remainder — means Marengo County-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: combined. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Because it contains a majority of the affected population, enrollment-weighted aggregates will sit closer to this entity's reported fields than to those of smaller peers; an unweighted entity count answers a different question.
Marengo County school enrollment varies 4.2× across entities
Marengo County school enrollment ranges from 142 students (lowest) to 600 students (highest), a spread of 458 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.
Marengo County reports 65.0% free-lunch eligibility
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.
Marengo County student-counselor ratio is 748:1 — 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.
Marengo County chronic absenteeism rate is 18.3% — 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 Marengo County is typically wider than the Marengo County-aggregate figure suggests.
Marengo County has 3 schools, including 3 combined. Total enrollment is 953 students.
How much does Marengo County spend per student?
Marengo County spends $16,598 per student. The district has an equity score of 82/100, ranking #7 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Marengo County?
Marengo County students are 77.4% African American, 21.1% White, 0.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Marengo County?
Marengo County has an equity score of 82/100, ranking #7 out of 146 districts in Alabama.