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Batesville, Mississippi - 6 schools
An equity score of 45/100 ranks South Panola School District #84 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,521 per pupil, South Panola School District ranks #99 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,313
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$10,521
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
South Panola School District operates 6 public schools serving 4,313 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 2 elementary, 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 Panola County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,521 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 26.4% local, 48.5% state, and 25.1% 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 45/100, ranked #84 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 6 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 491.9:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 45.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 53.6% African American, 38.8% White, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is South Panola High School, with a diversity index of 55.9/100.
Its largest campus is South Panola High School, enrolling 1,113 students (26% of the district's total enrollment).
South Panola High School accounts for 25.8% of all South Panola School District student enrollment
That concentration means South Panola School District-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.
South Panola School District school enrollment varies 2.3× across entities
South Panola School District school enrollment ranges from 474 students (lowest) to 1,113 students (highest), a spread of 639 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.
South Panola School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 78.0% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — 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.
South Panola School District student-counselor ratio is 492:1 — 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.
South Panola School District chronic absenteeism rate is 45.2% — 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 South Panola School District?
South Panola School District has 6 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 combined, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 4,313 students.
How much does South Panola School District spend per student?
South Panola School District spends $10,521 per student. The district has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #84 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of South Panola School District?
South Panola School District students are 53.6% African American, 38.8% White, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for South Panola School District?
South Panola School District has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #84 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.