Mound Bayou Public School District Explained

The Mound Bayou Public School District was a public school district with its headquarters in Mound Bayou, Mississippi (USA).

In addition to Mound Bayou, the district also served the town of Winstonville.^[1]

On July 1, 2014 consolidated with the North Bolivar School District in Shelby, Mississippi to form the North Bolivar Consolidated School District. The central office for this consolidated district is located in Mound Bayou.^[2]

Schools

• John F. Kennedy Memorial High School (Grades 7-12)
• I.T. Montgomery Elementary School (Grades K-6)
  • It was named after Isaiah Montgomery, cofounder of Mound Bayou.^[3]

Operations

In 2006 the school district's taxing resulted in the district spending $222 per student, taking up 5% of the operating costs, with other entities paying for the rest. This made Mound Bayou the poorest overall district in Mississippi, though not poorest in terms of taxable property.^[4] The State of Mississippi overall funded a greater percentage of the district's costs compared to a school district with more taxable property and/or funds from taxation.^[5]

Performance

Circa 2012 the State of Mississippi ranked the district "successful", the only Mississippi Delta district to get that distinction. In addition a Mississippi Business Journal article from that year concluded that of all Mississippi school districts Mound Bayou was the most financially stable. After the merger with North Bolivar perception of Mound Bayou district residents was that the state had interfered with a previously stable school district.^[6]

Demographics

2006-07 school year

There were a total of 653 students enrolled in the Mound Bayou Public School District during the 2006-2007 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 50% female and 50% male. The racial makeup of the district was 99.69% African American, 0.15% White, and 0.15% Hispanic.^[7] All of the district's students were eligible to receive free lunch.^[8]

Previous school years

School Year	Enrollment	Gender Makeup		Racial Makeup
		Female	Male	Asian	African American	Hispanic	Native American	White
2005-06	696	49%	51%	-	99.86%	-	-	0.14%
2004-05	690	51%	49%	-	100.00%	-	-	-
2003-04	719	50%	50%	0.14%	99.86%	-	-	-
2002-03^[9]	720	50%	50%	-	100.00%	-	-	-

Accountability statistics

	2006-07^[10]	2005-06^[11]	2004-05^[12]	2003-04^[13]	2002-03^[14]
District Accreditation Status	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited
School Performance Classifications
Level 5 (Superior Performing) Schools	0	0	0	0	0
Level 4 (Exemplary) Schools	0	1	0	0	0
Level 3 (Successful) Schools	2	1	2	2	0
Level 2 (Under Performing) Schools	0	0	0	0	1
Level 1 (Low Performing) Schools	0	0	0	0	1
Not Assigned	0	0	0	0	0

See also

• List of school districts in Mississippi

Further reading

• Legislation from the Mississippi Legislature requiring the Bolivar County school district consolidations
• Ruling from the U.S. Department of Justice about the Bolivar County school district consolidations

Notes and References

1. "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Bolivar County, MS." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 25, 2018.
2. "School District Consolidation in Mississippi ." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).
3. Web site: Davis Betz. Kelsey. Mound Bayou's history a 'magical kingdom' residents fight to preserve . Mississippi Today. 2018-05-19. 2021-05-12.
4. Web site: Gray. Lloyd. Law dictates divvying of funds. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. 2006-12-27. 2021-05-12. (Opinion page)
5. Web site: Elkins. Ashley. McCoy defends school funding formula. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. 2005-08-24. 2021-05-12.
6. Web site: Davis Betz. Kelsey. Mound Bayou residents pursue legal action to keep high school open . Mississippi Today. 2018-03-01. 2021-05-12.
7. Web site: Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System . Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070323012858/http://orsap.mde.k12.ms.us:8080/MAARS/indexProcessor.jsp . 2007-03-23 .
8. Web site: 2006-07 State, District, and School Enrollment by Race/Gender with Poverty Data . . Mississippi Department of Education . 2008-01-16 . 2008-05-18 .
9. Web site: Mississippi Report Card for 2002-2003 . Office of Educational Accountability, Mississippi Department of Education . 2004-09-02 . 2007-08-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070812173502/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/RC3B/RC3B.htm . 2007-08-12 .
10. Web site: 2007 Results . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2007-09-13 . 2007-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071127152304/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM07/ACC07LST.PDF . 2007-11-27 .
11. Web site: 2006 Results . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2006-09-06 . 2007-06-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070217064644/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM06/ACC06LST.PDF . 2007-02-17 .
12. Web site: 2005 Results . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2005-09-09 . 2007-06-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061213051444/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM05/ACC05FLST.PDF . 2006-12-13 .
13. Web site: 2004 Results . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2004-09-26 . 2007-06-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070705114957/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM04/ACC04FLST.PDF . 2007-07-05 .
14. Web site: 2003 Results . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2003-11-21 . 2007-06-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070705114951/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM03/ACC03CLST.PDF . 2007-07-05 .