The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District (SOCSD), formerly Starkville Public School District, is a public school district in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, headquartered in Starkville. The district serves all children within the county, including Starkville, residents of Mississippi State University,[1] and the other communities and rural areas countywide due to the state legislature mandated consolidation with the Oktibbeha County School District in 2015.[2]

History

When federal mandates forced schools to integrate, Oktibbeha County realigned the school districts so that the Starkville School District (SSD) occupied the affluent neighborhoods surrounding Starkville, which was the center of Oktibbeha County, and included the majority of the tax base. The remaining fringes of the county were relegated to the Oktibbeha County School District (OCSD), which was poor,[3] underfunded, failing, and over 90% black.[4] Over the next few decades, the SSD became racially mixed, while the OCSD stumbled badly and was take over by state conservators on two occasions, most recently in 2013. Many in Starkville and at Mississippi State found the county system a source of shame.[4] In 1970, when the schools were integrated, more than half of the black teachers were let go. In addition, the old Rosenwald school was burned to the ground.[5] In 1970, immediately after the schools were integrated, the student population declined by 866 students from the previous year, for a total enrollment of 3,410, of which 1,762 were listed as negro and 1,649 as white.[6]

In the 70s and 80s, various lawsuits including Montgomery v Starkville Municipal Separate School District alleged that the district dismissed or demoted black teachers because of their race, failed to compensate black teachers the same as white teachers, placed children in gifted or remedial programs based on race, and maintained segregation at the classroom level.[7]

Various commissions and consultants in the 1990s and another in 2010 recommended the districts be merged to provide for a better and less segregated education.[8] After repeated failures and charges of mismanagement, the state legislature attempted to get the schools to consolidate, first in the 1990s, and again in 2013 but with no avail. After the legislature passed a bill in 2014 forcing the SSD to consolidate with OCSD, the county was out of options.[9] The OCSD district was dissolved under Mississippi law on July 1, 2015.[10] The new consolidated SOCSD took the combined area of SSD and OCSD. The two elementary schools, East Oktibbeha and West Oktibbeha were to remain open while the high schools, East High and West High, consolidated into Starkville High School.[9]

There was apprehension that the merger would cause white flight of students to local private schools including Starkville Academy, but the opposite occurred as many rural whites removed their children from private schools and enrolled in the new district schools, now 67% black. The merger marks the first time in the Mississippi consolidation movement that a failing district has been merged with a successful one, and that two districts of such extremely different racial makeup have been merged.[4]

As a result of the merger, East Oktibbeha elementary school was closed because it would have been over 90% black and would not reflect the racial makeup of the district.[3]

Service area

The consolidated school district serves all of the county. The previous Starkville School District served Starkville, the Mississippi State University census-designated place, Longview, and some other unincorporated areas.[11][12]

Schools

Schools are in Starkville unless otherwise stated.

Secondary schools:

Elementary schools:

  • Henderson Intermediate School
  • Overstreet Elementary School
  • Sudduth Elementary School
  • Ward-Stewart Elementary School
  • West Oktibbeha Elementary School (Sturgis)

Preschool:

  • Emerson Preschool

Alternative programs:

  • East School (Starkville)

Demographics

2012-13 school year

There were a total of 4,310 students enrolled in the Starkville School District during the 2012–2013 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 49% female and 51% male. The racial makeup of the district was 64% African American, 31% White, 1% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 0.3% other. 62% of the district's students were eligible to receive free lunch.

Previous school years

School Year Enrollment Gender Makeup Racial Makeup Free lunch eligible
Female Male Asian African
American		 Hispanic Native
American		 White
2012-13 [15] 4,310 49.2% 50.8% 3.37% 63.76% 1.35% 31.22% 62%
2011-12 [16] 4,097 48% 51% 3% 64% 1% 0 30%
2010-11 [16] 4,097 49% 50% 2% 64% 1% 0 30%
2009-10 [16] 4,128 48% 51% 2% 64% 1% 0 31%
2008-09 [16] 4,207 48% 51% 2% 64% 1% 0 31%
2007-08 [16] 4,075 48% 51% 2% 64% 1% 0 30%
2006-07[17] 4,089 49% 51% 2.64% 64.76% 1.05% 0.39% 31.16% 57.8% [18]
2005-06[17] 4,058 48% 52% 2.49% 64.14% 1.06% 0.37% 31.94%  ?
2004-05[17] 3,979 49% 51% 2.34% 64.46% 1.28% 0.40% 31.52%  ?
2003-04[17] 3,886 49% 51% 2.50% 64.38% 0.95% 0.33% 31.83%  ?
2002-03[19] 3,837 50% 50% 2.40% 63.49% 0.89% 0.26% 32.97%

Accountability statistics

2012-13[20]
District Accreditation Status Accredited
District Accountability Status C
School Accoutability Status
Level 5 (A) Schools 0
Level 4 (B) Schools 1
Level 3 (C) Schools 2
Level 2 (D) Schools 1
Level 1 (F) Schools 0
Not Assigned 1
High School Completion Index (HSCI) 201.3
Graduation Rate 76.3%
2011-12[21] 2010-11[22] 2009-10[23] 2008-09[24]
District Accreditation Status Accredited Accredited Accredited Accredited
District Accountability Status Successful Successful Academic Watch Academic Watch
School Accoutability Status
Level 6 (Star School) Schools 0 0 0 0
Level 5 (High Performing) Schools 0 0 0 0
Level 4 (Successful) Schools 3 4 3 2
Level 3 (Academic Watch) Schools 1 0 1 0
Level 2 (At Risk of Failing) Schools 0 0 0 2
Level 1 (Failing) Schools 0 0 0 0
Not Assigned 1 1 1 1
High School Completion Index (HSCI) 153 178.3 118.5 155.5
Graduation Rate 71.8% 69.8% 60.4% 72.1%
2006-07[25] 2005-06[26] 2004-05[27] 2003-04[28] 2002-03[29]
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 1 1 1 1 1
Level 3 (Successful) Schools 4 3 4 4 4
Level 2 (Under Performing) Schools 0 1 0 0 0
Level 1 (Low Performing) Schools 0 0 0 0 0
Not Assigned 1 1 1 1 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Campus Map." Mississippi State University. Retrieved on February 2, 2012.
  2. ↑ "School District Consolidation in Mississippi Archived 2017-07-02 at the Wayback Machine." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).
  3. 1 2 Lewis, Nicole (October 3, 2016). "What happens when two separate and unequal school districts merge? Forced to consolidate, two school districts in rural Mississippi reimagine desegregation". Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Grant, Richard (July 19, 2016). "Starkville school merger: What went right?". Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, Jerry (July 9, 1995). "2 towns handled desegregation very differently". Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. p. 15. Retrieved December 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Palmer, James (June 1971). "Mississippi School Districts: Factors in the Disestablishment of Dual Systems. Final Report" (PDF). pp. 105, 115. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Montgomery v Starkville Municipal Separate School District". Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Oktibbeha, Starkville school districts recommended for merger". April 20, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "The Plan for Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Archived 2017-05-26 at the Wayback Machine." Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. January 20, 2015. Retrieved on July 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Senate Bill 2818 (As Sent to Governor)". Mississippi Legislature. Retrieved August 10, 2021. On July 1, 2015, following the motion of State Board of Education to consolidate school districts in Oktibbeha County, the Oktibbeha County School District shall be abolished.
  11. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Oktibbeha County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  12. ↑ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Oktibbeha County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 9, 2021. - Longview is not directly indicated on this map but the map can be compared to the 2020 map.
  13. ↑ "Partnership School still on track for August 2020 opening". July 27, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ "2012-2013 SSD Superintendent's Fact Sheet". Starkville School District. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mississippi Dept. of Education Assessment and Accountability Reporting System". Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System". Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on March 23, 2007.
  18. ↑ "2006-07 State, District, and School Enrollment by Race/Gender with Poverty Data" (XLS). Mississippi Department of Education. January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Mississippi Report Card for 2002-2003". Office of Educational Accountability, Mississippi Department of Education. September 2, 2004. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
  20. ↑ "2012 Accoutability Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  21. ↑ "2011 Accoutability Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  22. ↑ "2011 Accoutability Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  23. ↑ "2010 Accoutability Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  24. ↑ "2009 Accoutability Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  25. ↑ "2007 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 13, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
  26. ↑ "2006 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 6, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 17, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
  27. ↑ "2005 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 9, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
  28. ↑ "2004 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 26, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
  29. ↑ "2003 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. November 21, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2007.

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