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Bessemer City Schools, Alabama, elections

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Bessemer City Schools
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District details
School board members: 7
Students: 3,121 (2023-2024)
Schools: 9 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Bessemer City Schools is a school district in Alabama (Jefferson County). During the 2024 school year, 3,121 students attended one of the district's nine schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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About the district

School board

Bessemer City Schools consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Terry Dawson
Lee Jones
Sam Morris
Renna Scott
Remeka Thompson
Margie Varner
Anthony Williams

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Bessemer City Schools
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Alabama House of Representatives District 56Ontario TillmanDemocratic Party 74% 51%
Alabama House of Representatives District 15Leigh HulseyRepublican Party 21% 9%
Alabama House of Representatives District 57Patrick SellersDemocratic Party 5% 3%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $13,709,000 $4,021 26%
Local: $14,196,000 $4,164 27%
State: $24,274,000 $7,121 46%
Total: $52,179,000 $15,306
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $49,364,000 $14,480
Total Current Expenditures: $46,295,000 $13,580
Instructional Expenditures: $22,173,000 $6,504 45%
Student and Staff Support: $7,176,000 $2,105 15%
Administration: $6,225,000 $1,826 13%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $10,721,000 $3,144 22%
Total Capital Outlay: $504,000 $147
Construction: $93,000 $27
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $1,975,000 $579
Interest on Debt: $559,000 $163

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 3 3 <=5 <=10 <=20
2018-2019 21 PS 21 20-24 PS 20-29 30-39
2017-2018 24 PS 23 30-34 PS PS 30-39
2016-2017 20 19 30-34 PS PS 20-29
2015-2016 19 18 25-29 PS PS 30-39
2014-2015 14 PS 13 20-24 PS 11-19 20-29
2013-2014 12 PS 12 20-24 PS 11-19 20-29
2012-2013 69 PS 68 80-84 PS 60-79 70-79
2011-2012 69 PS 69 80-84 PS PS 70-79
2010-2011 75 PS 75 80-84 >=50 70-79

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 19 18 20-24 20-29 21-39
2018-2019 22 22 20-24 PS 20-29 30-39
2017-2018 25 PS 25 25-29 PS PS 30-39
2016-2017 17 18 15-19 PS PS <=10
2015-2016 16 16 15-19 PS PS 11-19
2014-2015 16 PS 15 15-19 PS 11-19 20-29
2013-2014 17 PS 16 15-19 PS 11-19 30-39
2012-2013 72 PS 72 80-84 PS 40-59 80-89
2011-2012 75 PS 74 80-84 PS PS 80-89
2010-2011 77 PS 77 90-94 >=50 >=90

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 66 65-69 60-79 PS <50
2018-2019 78 75-79 >=50 >=50 >=50
2017-2018 77 75-79 >=50 PS PS
2016-2017 73 PS 70-74 >=50 <50
2015-2016 79 80 60-79 PS
2014-2015 72 70-74 >=50 <50
2013-2014 73 70-74 >=50 PS
2012-2013 48 PS 45-49 <50 PS
2011-2012 40 PS 41 <50 <50
2010-2011 36 36 >=50 PS <50

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 3,121 -4.0
2022-2023 3,246 -5.0
2021-2022 3,409 2.7
2020-2021 3,318 -6.2
2019-2020 3,524 -2.7
2018-2019 3,618 0.2
2017-2018 3,610 0.1
2016-2017 3,605 -3.7
2015-2016 3,740 -5.9
2014-2015 3,962 -0.8
2013-2014 3,995 -1.8
2012-2013 4,068 -7.6
2011-2012 4,376 -3.1
2010-2011 4,510 0.7
2009-2010 4,480 3.0
2008-2009 4,344 2.2
2007-2008 4,247 2.6
2006-2007 4,136 -1.3
2005-2006 4,191 1.6
2004-2005 4,125 0.2
2003-2004 4,116 -3.2
2002-2003 4,249 -9.2
2001-2002 4,642 0.3
2000-2001 4,628 -4.8
1999-2000 4,850 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Bessemer City Schools (%) Alabama K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.1 0.8
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.0 1.5
Black 75.5 31.6
Hispanic 20.3 11.3
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1
Two or More Races 2.3 3.8
White 1.8 51.0

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Bessemer City Schools had 151.00 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 20.67.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 8.00
Kindergarten: 16.00
Elementary: 71.00
Secondary: 56.00
Total: 151.00

Bessemer City Schools employed 8.00 district administrators and 25.10 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 8.00
District Administrative Support: 20.00
School Administrators: 25.10
School Administrative Support: 21.00
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 30.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 0.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 11.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 5.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 5.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 7.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 9.00
Other Support Services: 53.00

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

Bessemer City Schools operates nine schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Abrams Elementary School217PK-5
Bessemer Center For Technology09-12
Bessemer City High School8059-12
Bessemer City Middle School6486-8
Charles F Hard Elementary School350PK-5
Greenwood Elementary School295KG-5
Jonesboro Elementary School509PK-5
New Horizon Alternative School07-12
Westhills Elementary School297KG-5

About school boards

Education legislation in Alabama

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Alabama
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External links

  • Office website
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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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