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Petersburg, Virginia - 7 schools
An equity score of 68/100 ranks Petersburg City Public Schools #29 of 131 districts in Virginia (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,113 per pupil, Petersburg City Public Schools ranks #38 of 131 Virginia districts by per-pupil spending (Virginia districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,272
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$15,113
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Petersburg City Public Schools operates 7 public schools serving 4,272 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Virginia. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined 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 Petersburg City.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,113 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 131 Virginia districts by per-pupil spending. See how Virginia compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 16.8% local, 58.1% state, and 25.0% 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 68/100, ranked #29 of 131 in Virginia against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 436.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 32.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.3% African American, 12.6% Hispanic or Latino, 4.0% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lakemont Elementary, with a diversity index of 43.0/100.
Its largest campus is Petersburg High, enrolling 1,215 students (27% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Lakemont Elementary, at 393 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Petersburg High accounts for 26.5% of all Petersburg City Public Schools student enrollment
That concentration means Petersburg City 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.
Petersburg City Public Schools school enrollment varies 3.1× across entities
Petersburg City Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 393 students (lowest) to 1,215 students (highest), a spread of 822 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.
Petersburg City Public Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 97.9% 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). 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.
Petersburg City Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 437:1 — 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.
Petersburg City Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 32.9% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Petersburg City Public Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Virginia
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Petersburg City Public Schools?
Petersburg City Public Schools has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 4 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 4,272 students.
How much does Petersburg City Public Schools spend per student?
Petersburg City Public Schools spends $15,113 per student. The district has an equity score of 68/100, ranking #29 in Virginia.
What is the demographic composition of Petersburg City Public Schools?
Petersburg City Public Schools students are 81.3% African American, 12.6% Hispanic or Latino, 4.0% White, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Petersburg City Public Schools?
Petersburg City Public Schools has an equity score of 68/100, ranking #29 out of 131 districts in Virginia.