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Columbiana, Alabama - 29 schools
An equity score of 27/100 ranks Shelby County #129 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,253 per pupil, Shelby County ranks #116 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
21,179
Total Enrollment
29
Schools
$11,253
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Shelby County operates 29 public schools serving 21,179 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 9 elementary, 8 combined, 6 high, 6 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Shelby County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,253 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 38.9% local, 51.9% state, and 9.2% 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 27/100, ranked #129 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 7 of 29 schools offering Advanced Placement (99 AP courses district-wide), a 470:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 16.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 64.5% White, 18.1% African American, 12.4% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Montevallo Elementary School, with a diversity index of 67.6/100.
Its largest campus is Oak Mountain High School, enrolling 1,648 students (8% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Linda Nolen Learning Center, at 78 students, a 21x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Shelby County school enrollment varies 21× across entities
Shelby County school enrollment ranges from 78 students (lowest) to 1,648 students (highest), a spread of 1,570 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Shelby County student-counselor ratio is 470:1 — 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.
Shelby County chronic absenteeism rate is 16.1% — 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 Shelby County is typically wider than the Shelby County-aggregate figure suggests.
Shelby County has 29 schools, including 6 high, 6 middle, 9 elementary, 8 combined. Total enrollment is 21,179 students.
How much does Shelby County spend per student?
Shelby County spends $11,253 per student. The district has an equity score of 27/100, ranking #129 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Shelby County?
Shelby County students are 64.5% White, 18.1% African American, 12.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% Asian, averaged across 29 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Shelby County?
Shelby County has an equity score of 27/100, ranking #129 out of 146 districts in Alabama.