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Cleveland, Mississippi - 8 schools
An equity score of 41/100 ranks Cleveland School Dist #96 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,339 per pupil, Cleveland School Dist ranks #79 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,818
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$11,339
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cleveland School Dist operates 8 public schools serving 2,818 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 Bolivar County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,339 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 37.4% local, 40.8% state, and 21.8% 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 41/100, ranked #96 of 146 in Mississippi against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 247.8:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 25.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 69.3% African American, 19.1% White, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Parks Elementary School, with a diversity index of 65.5/100.
Its largest campus is Cleveland Central High School, enrolling 799 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Pearman Elementary School, at 186 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Cleveland Central High School accounts for 28.4% of all Cleveland School Dist student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Cleveland School Dist-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.
Cleveland School Dist school enrollment varies 4.3× across entities
Cleveland School Dist school enrollment ranges from 186 students (lowest) to 799 students (highest), a spread of 613 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.
Cleveland School Dist has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% 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 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.
Cleveland School Dist student-counselor ratio is 248:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Cleveland School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 25.0% — 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 Cleveland School Dist is typically wider than the Cleveland School Dist-aggregate figure suggests.
Cleveland School Dist has 8 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 combined, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 2,818 students.
How much does Cleveland School Dist spend per student?
Cleveland School Dist spends $11,339 per student. The district has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #96 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Cleveland School Dist?
Cleveland School Dist students are 69.3% African American, 19.1% White, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cleveland School Dist?
Cleveland School Dist has an equity score of 41/100, ranking #96 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.