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Phenix City, Alabama - 7 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Russell County #110 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,388 per pupil, Russell County ranks #112 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,695
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$11,388
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Russell County operates 7 public schools serving 3,695 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary 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 Russell County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,388 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 20.9% local, 56.0% state, and 23.1% 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 37/100, ranked #110 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 1 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (2 AP courses district-wide), a 398.7:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 21.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 43.7% White, 36.9% African American, 10.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mount Olive Intermediate School, with a diversity index of 67.1/100.
Its largest campus is Russell County High School, enrolling 1,078 students (28% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Dixie Elementary School, at 251 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Russell County High School accounts for 28.0% of all Russell County student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Russell 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.
Russell County school enrollment varies 4.3× across entities
Russell County school enrollment ranges from 251 students (lowest) to 1,078 students (highest), a spread of 827 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.
Russell County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 62.5% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Russell County student-counselor ratio is 399:1 — 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.
Russell County chronic absenteeism rate is 21.8% — 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 Russell County is typically wider than the Russell County-aggregate figure suggests.
Russell County has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 4 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,695 students.
How much does Russell County spend per student?
Russell County spends $11,388 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #110 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Russell County?
Russell County students are 43.7% White, 36.9% African American, 10.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Russell County?
Russell County has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #110 out of 146 districts in Alabama.