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Sumner, Mississippi - 2 schools
An equity score of 79/100 ranks West Tallahatchie School District #12 of 146 districts in Mississippi (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,121 per pupil, West Tallahatchie School District ranks #9 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending (Mississippi districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
513
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$16,121
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
West Tallahatchie School District operates 2 public schools serving 513 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Mississippi. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Tallahatchie County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,121 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 15 of 147 Mississippi districts by per-pupil spending. See how Mississippi compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 31.4% local, 42.0% state, and 26.6% 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 79/100, ranked #12 of 146 in Mississippi against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 274:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 43.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 93.8% African American, 0.6% White, 0.4% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is West Tallahatchie High School, enrolling 297 students (54% of the district's total enrollment).
West Tallahatchie High School accounts for 54.2% of all West Tallahatchie School District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of West Tallahatchie School District a distant remainder — means West Tallahatchie School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
West Tallahatchie School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% 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 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.
West Tallahatchie School District student-counselor ratio is 274:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within West Tallahatchie School District is typically wider than the West Tallahatchie School District-aggregate figure suggests.
West Tallahatchie School District chronic absenteeism rate is 43.9% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to West Tallahatchie School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Mississippi
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in West Tallahatchie School District?
West Tallahatchie School District has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 513 students.
How much does West Tallahatchie School District spend per student?
West Tallahatchie School District spends $16,121 per student. The district has an equity score of 79/100, ranking #12 in Mississippi.
What is the demographic composition of West Tallahatchie School District?
West Tallahatchie School District students are 93.8% African American, 0.6% White, 0.4% Hispanic or Latino, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for West Tallahatchie School District?
West Tallahatchie School District has an equity score of 79/100, ranking #12 out of 146 districts in Mississippi.