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Carriere, Mississippi - 3 schools
An equity score of 22/100 ranks Pearl River Co School Dist #138 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $8,868 per pupil, Pearl River Co School Dist ranks #145 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,284
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$8,868
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pearl River Co School Dist operates 3 public schools serving 3,284 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 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 Pearl River County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $8,868 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 15 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 26.2% local, 55.6% state, and 18.2% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 22/100, ranked #138 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 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 539.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 47.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 84.6% White, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 3.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Pearl River Central Junior High, with a diversity index of 28.5/100.
Its largest campus is Pearl River Central Elementar, enrolling 1,414 students (45% of the district's total enrollment).
Pearl River Central Elementar accounts for 43.1% of all Pearl River Co School Dist student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Pearl River 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.
Pearl River Co School Dist has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 59.9% 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.
Pearl River Co School Dist student-counselor ratio is 540:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Pearl River Co School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 47.6% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
How many schools are in Pearl River Co School Dist?
Pearl River Co School Dist has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 3,284 students.
How much does Pearl River Co School Dist spend per student?
Pearl River Co School Dist spends $8,868 per student. The district has an equity score of 22/100, ranking #138 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Pearl River Co School Dist?
Pearl River Co School Dist students are 84.6% White, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 3.5% African American, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pearl River Co School Dist?
Pearl River Co School Dist has an equity score of 22/100, ranking #138 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.