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Columbus, Mississippi - 7 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Columbus Municipal School Dist #54 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,239 per pupil, Columbus Municipal School Dist ranks #48 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,090
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$12,239
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Columbus Municipal School Dist operates 7 public schools serving 3,090 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. 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 $12,239 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 33.6% local, 38.2% state, and 28.1% 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 57/100, ranked #54 of 146 in Mississippi against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 305.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 34.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.1% African American, 2.7% White, 2.4% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Franklin Academy, with a diversity index of 28.1/100.
Its largest campus is Columbus High School, enrolling 865 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Franklin Academy, at 231 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Columbus High School accounts for 28.0% of all Columbus Municipal School Dist student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Columbus Municipal 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.
Columbus Municipal School Dist school enrollment varies 3.7× across entities
Columbus Municipal School Dist school enrollment ranges from 231 students (lowest) to 865 students (highest), a spread of 634 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.
Columbus Municipal 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.
Columbus Municipal School Dist student-counselor ratio is 305:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Columbus Municipal School Dist is typically wider than the Columbus Municipal School Dist-aggregate figure suggests.
Columbus Municipal School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 34.6% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Columbus Municipal School Dist's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Mississippi
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Columbus Municipal School Dist?
Columbus Municipal School Dist has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 5 combined. Total enrollment is 3,090 students.
How much does Columbus Municipal School Dist spend per student?
Columbus Municipal School Dist spends $12,239 per student. The district has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #54 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Columbus Municipal School Dist?
Columbus Municipal School Dist students are 92.1% African American, 2.7% White, 2.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Columbus Municipal School Dist?
Columbus Municipal School Dist has an equity score of 57/100, ranking #54 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.