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Meridian, Mississippi - 9 schools
An equity score of 51/100 ranks Meridian Public Schools #70 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,633 per pupil, Meridian Public Schools ranks #40 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,614
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$12,633
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Meridian Public Schools operates 9 public schools serving 4,614 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 combined, 2 middle, 1 high 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 Lauderdale County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,633 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 34.9% local, 38.9% state, and 26.2% 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 51/100, ranked #70 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 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 184.7:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 38.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 90.5% African American, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.7% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Poplar Springs Elementary School, with a diversity index of 29.0/100.
Its largest campus is Meridian High School, enrolling 1,253 students (28% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Oakland Heights Elementary School, at 328 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Meridian High School accounts for 27.2% of all Meridian Public Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Meridian Public Schools-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.
Meridian Public Schools school enrollment varies 3.8× across entities
Meridian Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 328 students (lowest) to 1,253 students (highest), a spread of 925 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.
Meridian Public Schools 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.
Meridian Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 185:1 — 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.
Meridian Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 38.0% — 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.
Meridian Public Schools has 9 schools, including 1 high, 2 middle, 6 combined. Total enrollment is 4,614 students.
How much does Meridian Public Schools spend per student?
Meridian Public Schools spends $12,633 per student. The district has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #70 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Meridian Public Schools?
Meridian Public Schools students are 90.5% African American, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.7% White, 0.6% Asian, averaged across 9 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Meridian Public Schools?
Meridian Public Schools has an equity score of 51/100, ranking #70 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.