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Sylacauga, Alabama - 4 schools
An equity score of 56/100 ranks Sylacauga City #56 of 146 districts in Alabama (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,047 per pupil, Sylacauga City ranks #74 of 146 Alabama districts by per-pupil spending (Alabama districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,125
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$12,047
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Sylacauga City operates 4 public schools serving 2,125 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Alabama. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high, 1 combined, 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 Talladega County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,047 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 23.5% local, 53.5% state, and 23.0% 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 56/100, ranked #56 of 146 in Alabama against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (11 AP courses district-wide), a 359.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 27.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 45.7% White, 42.8% African American, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Indian Valley Elementary School, with a diversity index of 61.1/100.
Its largest campus is Sylacauga High School, enrolling 627 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Sylacauga High School accounts for 29.5% of all Sylacauga City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Sylacauga City-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.
Sylacauga City has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.0% 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.
Sylacauga City student-counselor ratio is 360:1 — 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.
Sylacauga City chronic absenteeism rate is 27.8% — 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 Sylacauga City is typically wider than the Sylacauga City-aggregate figure suggests.
Sylacauga City has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 2,125 students.
How much does Sylacauga City spend per student?
Sylacauga City spends $12,047 per student. The district has an equity score of 56/100, ranking #56 in Alabama.
What is the demographic composition of Sylacauga City?
Sylacauga City students are 45.7% White, 42.8% African American, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Sylacauga City?
Sylacauga City has an equity score of 56/100, ranking #56 out of 146 districts in Alabama.