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Columbia, Mississippi - 5 schools
An equity score of 78/100 ranks Marion Co School Dist #13 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,259 per pupil, Marion Co School Dist ranks #46 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,904
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,259
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Marion Co School Dist operates 5 public schools serving 1,904 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 combined, 1 elementary 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 Marion County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,259 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 21.7% local, 46.8% state, and 31.6% 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 78/100, ranked #13 of 146 in Mississippi against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 379:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 36.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 49.1% African American, 45.0% White, 1.7% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is East Marion Elementary School, with a diversity index of 51.1/100.
Its largest campus is West Marion Primary School, enrolling 435 students (28% of the district's total enrollment).
West Marion Primary School accounts for 22.8% of all Marion Co School Dist student enrollment
That concentration means Marion 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.
Marion Co School Dist school enrollment varies 2.0× across entities
Marion Co School Dist school enrollment ranges from 216 students (lowest) to 435 students (highest), a spread of 219 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.
Marion Co 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.
Marion Co School Dist student-counselor ratio is 379:1 — 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.
Marion Co School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 36.4% — 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.
Marion Co School Dist has 5 schools, including 4 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,904 students.
How much does Marion Co School Dist spend per student?
Marion Co School Dist spends $12,259 per student. The district has an equity score of 78/100, ranking #13 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Marion Co School Dist?
Marion Co School Dist students are 49.1% African American, 45.0% White, 1.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Marion Co School Dist?
Marion Co School Dist has an equity score of 78/100, ranking #13 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.