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Pontotoc, Mississippi - 7 schools
An equity score of 33/100 ranks Pontotoc Co School Dist #115 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,404 per pupil, Pontotoc Co School Dist ranks #140 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,466
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$9,404
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pontotoc Co School Dist operates 7 public schools serving 3,466 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 elementary, 2 high, 2 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 $9,404 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 19.6% local, 56.1% 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 33/100, ranked #115 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 2 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (10 AP courses district-wide), a 495:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 34.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 72.6% White, 14.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is North Pontotoc Upper Elementary, with a diversity index of 54.4/100.
South Pontotoc Elementary School accounts for 22.4% of all Pontotoc Co School Dist student enrollment
That concentration means Pontotoc Co School Dist-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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 Co School Dist school enrollment varies 2.6× across entities
Pontotoc Co School Dist school enrollment ranges from 297 students (lowest) to 776 students (highest), a spread of 479 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 Co School Dist has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 64.6% 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 Co School Dist student-counselor ratio is 495:1 — 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.
Pontotoc Co School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 34.9% — 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.
Pontotoc Co School Dist has 7 schools, including 3 elementary, 2 high, 2 middle. Total enrollment is 3,466 students.
How much does Pontotoc Co School Dist spend per student?
Pontotoc Co School Dist spends $9,404 per student. The district has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #115 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Pontotoc Co School Dist?
Pontotoc Co School Dist students are 72.6% White, 14.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pontotoc Co School Dist?
Pontotoc Co School Dist has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #115 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.