District profile / Alabama

Shelby County

Columbiana, Alabama · Public school district · #8 of 129 Alabama districts by enrollment

Compare with peers

20,638

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$10,951

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · about the same as the Alabama median

16.2

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Alabama median 17.1

Shelby County is a public school district based in Columbiana, Alabama, serving 20,638 students in 33 schools. By enrollment it ranks #8 of the 129 Alabama districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 95% of them. Its schools average 625 students each, more than the Alabama median of 452. It spends about $10,951 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 16.2 students per teacher.

How Shelby County compares

Shelby CountyAlabama median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$10,951

Alabama median $10,671 · about the same · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$6,484

Alabama median $6,303 · about the same · FY2020-21

Students per school625

Alabama median 452 · 38% above · 2024-25

Students per teacher16.2

Alabama median 17.1 · 5% below · 2024-25

Students per counselor413

Alabama median 399 · about the same · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$260.2 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 9%State 54%Local 37%

Measure	Shelby County	Alabama median	Year
Current spending per student	$10,951	$10,671	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$6,484	$6,303	FY2020-21
Total spending	$240.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$260.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	1,277	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	2,687	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	16.2	17.1	2024-25
Students per counselor	413	399	2024-25

Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The Alabama median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

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Peer districts in Alabama

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Huntsville CityHuntsville	24,222	46	$11,277	17.8	#5
Birmingham CityBirmingham	20,954	49	$12,272	19.2	#6
Madison CountyHuntsville	20,691	30	$9,622	18.4	#7
Shelby CountyColumbiana · this district	20,638	33	$10,951	16.2	#8
Tuscaloosa CountyTuscaloosa	19,278	36	$10,066	17.2	#9

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
CUSD 300Algonquin, IL	20,705	$14,873	14.2
Wilson CountyLebanon, TN	20,703	$9,319	n/a
Scottsdale Unified District (4240)Scottsdale, AZ	20,682	$9,477	16.3
Lake Elsinore UnifiedLake Elsinore, CA	20,559	$13,540	23.1

Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.

Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-al-shelby-county