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Columbus, Mississippi - 8 schools
An equity score of 28/100 ranks Lowndes Co School Dist #130 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,038 per pupil, Lowndes Co School Dist ranks #120 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,261
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$10,038
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lowndes Co School Dist operates 8 public schools serving 5,261 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 2 high, 2 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 Lowndes County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,038 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 44.4% local, 39.5% state, and 16.2% 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 28/100, ranked #130 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 3 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 442.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 25.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 46.9% White, 46.7% African American, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is New Hope Middle School, with a diversity index of 55.8/100.
Its largest campus is New Hope Elementary School, enrolling 1,191 students (23% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is West Lowndes High School, at 206 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
New Hope Elementary School accounts for 22.6% of all Lowndes Co School Dist student enrollment
That concentration means Lowndes Co School Dist-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Lowndes Co School Dist school enrollment varies 5.8× across entities
Lowndes Co School Dist school enrollment ranges from 206 students (lowest) to 1,191 students (highest), a spread of 985 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.
Lowndes Co School Dist has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 66.1% 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 approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Lowndes Co School Dist student-counselor ratio is 442:1 — 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.
Lowndes Co School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 25.4% — 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 Lowndes Co School Dist is typically wider than the Lowndes Co School Dist-aggregate figure suggests.
Lowndes Co School Dist has 8 schools, including 4 combined, 2 high, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 5,261 students.
How much does Lowndes Co School Dist spend per student?
Lowndes Co School Dist spends $10,038 per student. The district has an equity score of 28/100, ranking #130 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Lowndes Co School Dist?
Lowndes Co School Dist students are 46.9% White, 46.7% African American, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 8 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Lowndes Co School Dist?
Lowndes Co School Dist has an equity score of 28/100, ranking #130 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.