Here Is The Best School System In Alabama: Report

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL - The website 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware corporation that publishes financial news and commentary, sifted through various school data to determine the best school district in every state. Perhaps not surprising to Alabama residents, Mountain Brook City Schools ranked highest on the list in the state.

The company evaluated the districts by creating an index based on data in the following categories:

• Child poverty
• Spending per student
• Graduation rate
• Teachers per student
• Percentage of adults with a bachelor's degree
• Preschool enrollment
• Advanced Placement enrollment

Mountain Brook spends $12,324 per student, and has a graduation rate of 96.8 percent. As well, 85.1 percent of adults in Mountain Brook have bachelor's degrees. Mountain Brook also has the highest property taxes in the state, which accounts for a significant amount of its education funds. The report can be found here.

Several school districts in the U.S. spend more than $50,000 per student on education each year, 24/7 Wall St. said, but others spend less than $2,000 per student. Local sources, including property taxes, account for about 44 percent of all school funding in the U.S. This means most of the best school districts are located in affluent counties where the majority of households earn more than double that of a typical American household.

"That difference in spending contributes to major disparities in student outcomes throughout the country," the authors wrote. "The majority of a school's budget is spent on staff and teacher salaries. A school that is able to attract the best teachers can give their students a major advantage."

A January report by 27/7 Wall St. showed Alabama schools at 43rd overall in the country. with an average spending of $10, 142 per student. The state also ranked low in number of adults with bachelor's degrees, with only 24.7 percent.

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