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Pontotoc, Mississippi - 5 schools
An equity score of 45/100 ranks Pontotoc City Schools #85 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,827 per pupil, Pontotoc City Schools ranks #129 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,302
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$9,827
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pontotoc City Schools operates 5 public schools serving 2,302 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 combined, 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 Pontotoc County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,827 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 19.6% local, 56.0% state, and 24.4% 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 45/100, ranked #85 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 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 408.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 27.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 48.0% White, 25.4% African American, 20.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Pontotoc Junior High School, with a diversity index of 66.9/100.
Its largest campus is Pontotoc High School, enrolling 712 students (30% of the district's total enrollment).
Pontotoc High School accounts for 29.7% of all Pontotoc City Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Pontotoc City 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.
Pontotoc City Schools school enrollment varies 2.3× across entities
Pontotoc City Schools school enrollment ranges from 316 students (lowest) to 712 students (highest), a spread of 396 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.
Pontotoc City Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 70.0% 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 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.
Pontotoc City Schools student-counselor ratio is 409:1 — 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.
Pontotoc City Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 27.5% — 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 Pontotoc City Schools is typically wider than the Pontotoc City Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Pontotoc City Schools has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 2,302 students.
How much does Pontotoc City Schools spend per student?
Pontotoc City Schools spends $9,827 per student. The district has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #85 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Pontotoc City Schools?
Pontotoc City Schools students are 48.0% White, 25.4% African American, 20.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pontotoc City Schools?
Pontotoc City Schools has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #85 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.