Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Purvis, Mississippi - 15 schools
An equity score of 32/100 ranks Lamar County School District #118 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,063 per pupil, Lamar County School District ranks #116 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
10,276
Total Enrollment
15
Schools
$10,063
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lamar County School District operates 15 public schools serving 10,276 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 8 combined, 3 high, 3 middle, 1 elementary 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 Lamar County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,063 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 33.5% local, 47.5% state, and 18.9% 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 32/100, ranked #118 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 2 of 15 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 373.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 21.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 64.0% White, 24.8% African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Bellevue Elementary School, with a diversity index of 65.4/100.
Its largest campus is Oak Grove High School, enrolling 1,750 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Baxterville School, at 217 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Oak Grove High School accounts for 17.0% of all Lamar County School District student enrollment
That concentration means Lamar County School District-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.
Lamar County School District school enrollment varies 8.1× across entities
Lamar County School District school enrollment ranges from 217 students (lowest) to 1,750 students (highest), a spread of 1,533 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Lamar County School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 56.2% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants 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.
Lamar County School District student-counselor ratio is 374:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Lamar County School District chronic absenteeism rate is 21.6% — 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 Lamar County School District is typically wider than the Lamar County School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Lamar County School District?
Lamar County School District has 15 schools, including 3 high, 3 middle, 8 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 10,276 students.
How much does Lamar County School District spend per student?
Lamar County School District spends $10,063 per student. The district has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #118 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Lamar County School District?
Lamar County School District students are 64.0% White, 24.8% African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% Asian, averaged across 15 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lamar County School District?
Lamar County School District has an equity score of 32/100, ranking #118 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.