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Tupelo, Mississippi - 12 schools
An equity score of 45/100 ranks Tupelo Public School Dist #83 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,682 per pupil, Tupelo Public School Dist ranks #64 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
7,132
Total Enrollment
12
Schools
$11,682
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Tupelo Public School Dist operates 12 public schools serving 7,132 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 8 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high, 1 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Lee County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,682 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.5% local, 38.9% state, and 18.6% 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 #83 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 12 schools offering Advanced Placement (22 AP courses district-wide), a 410.9:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 32.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 53.0% African American, 29.9% White, 9.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Joyner Elementary School, with a diversity index of 64.4/100.
Its largest campus is Tupelo High School, enrolling 2,123 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Carver Elementary School, at 312 students, a 7x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Tupelo High School accounts for 29.5% of all Tupelo Public School Dist student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Tupelo Public School Dist-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.
Tupelo Public School Dist school enrollment varies 6.8× across entities
Tupelo Public School Dist school enrollment ranges from 312 students (lowest) to 2,123 students (highest), a spread of 1,811 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.
Tupelo Public School Dist has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 66.7% 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.
Tupelo Public School Dist student-counselor ratio is 411:1 — 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.
Tupelo Public School Dist chronic absenteeism rate is 32.7% — 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.
How many schools are in Tupelo Public School Dist?
Tupelo Public School Dist has 12 schools, including 1 high, 2 middle, 8 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 7,132 students.
How much does Tupelo Public School Dist spend per student?
Tupelo Public School Dist spends $11,682 per student. The district has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #83 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of Tupelo Public School Dist?
Tupelo Public School Dist students are 53.0% African American, 29.9% White, 9.6% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% Asian, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Tupelo Public School Dist?
Tupelo Public School Dist has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #83 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.