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Valdosta, Georgia - 8 schools
An equity score of 52/100 ranks Valdosta City #104 of 216 districts in Georgia (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,517 per pupil, Valdosta City ranks #160 of 219 Georgia districts by per-pupil spending (Georgia districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
8,291
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$12,517
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Valdosta City operates 8 public schools serving 8,291 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Georgia. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 2 middle, 1 high 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 Lowndes County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,517 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 219 Georgia districts by per-pupil spending. See how Georgia compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 33.3% local, 40.5% state, and 26.2% 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 52/100, ranked #104 of 216 in Georgia 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 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (26 AP courses district-wide), a 510:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 77.6% African American, 10.3% Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is S.L. Mason Elementary School, with a diversity index of 50.7/100.
Its largest campus is Valdosta High School, enrolling 2,457 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Pinevale Elementary School, at 565 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Valdosta High School accounts for 29.6% of all Valdosta City student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Valdosta 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.
Valdosta City school enrollment varies 4.3× across entities
Valdosta City school enrollment ranges from 565 students (lowest) to 2,457 students (highest), a spread of 1,892 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.
Valdosta City has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 92.9% 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 a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. 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.
Valdosta City student-counselor ratio is 510:1 — 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.
Valdosta City chronic absenteeism rate is 30.6% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Valdosta City has 8 schools, including 1 high, 5 combined, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 8,291 students.
How much does Valdosta City spend per student?
Valdosta City spends $12,517 per student. The district has an equity score of 52/100, ranking #104 in Georgia.
What is the demographic composition of Valdosta City?
Valdosta City students are 77.6% African American, 10.3% Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% White, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Valdosta City?
Valdosta City has an equity score of 52/100, ranking #104 out of 216 districts in Georgia.