(Photo from Okolona Elementary School Facebook page)
- MDE said the move comes as a result of serious financial impairments that threaten the district’s ability to provide students with an adequate and stable educational environment.
Okolona Municipal Separate School District has been placed into a District of Transformation by the Mississippi Department of Education.
MDE said the move comes as a result of serious financial impairments that threaten the district’s ability to provide students with an adequate and stable educational environment.
Those impairments include ongoing insolvency, failure to make payroll, a pattern of fiscal mismanagement, failure to maintain adequate internal controls, and failure to comply with Process Standards 4 and 5 of the Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2025
MDE said the fiscal mismanagement has resulted in the absence of sufficient funds to maintain minimum operations and support interventions.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision to protect the educational interests of students in Okolona,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lance Evans. “The financial challenges facing this district have reached a point where state intervention is required to ensure students continue to receive the education they deserve.”
As a District of Transformation, MDE stated that the Okolona Municipal Separate School District will now be a state-led school under the supervision of the MDE and the State Board of Education.
An interim superintendent will be appointed by MDE and the State Board of Education to lead the district “and work to ensure continuity of educational services for all students in the district during this transition.”
The Okolona district received a B rating in MDE’s 2025 Mississippi Statewide Accountability System, with its elementary and high school receiving an A rating and its middle school receiving a D rating. Okolona reported a graduation rate of 89.1 percent and a dropout rate of 10.9 percent.
Frank Corder
