District profile / North Carolina

Polk County Schools

Columbus, North Carolina · Superintendent: Todd Murphy · #91 of 112 North Carolina districts by enrollment

Compare with peers

2,110

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$12,894

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 16% above the North Carolina median

14.2

Students per teacher

2024-25 · North Carolina median 15.7

Polk County Schools is a public school district based in Columbus, North Carolina, serving 2,110 students in 7 schools. By enrollment it ranks #91 of the 112 North Carolina districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 19% of them. Its schools average 301 students each, fewer than the North Carolina median of 446. Its superintendent is Todd Murphy. It spends about $12,894 per student on day-to-day operations, 16% more than the North Carolina median. It has roughly 14.2 students per teacher.

How Polk County compares

Polk CountyNorth Carolina median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$12,894

North Carolina median $11,153 · 16% above · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$8,030

North Carolina median $6,920 · 16% above · FY2020-21

Students per school301

North Carolina median 446 · 33% below · 2024-25

Students per teacher14.2

North Carolina median 15.7 · 10% below · 2024-25

Students per counselor264

North Carolina median 358 · 26% below · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$29.2 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 15%State 62%Local 23%

Measure	Polk County	North Carolina median	Year
Current spending per student	$12,894	$11,153	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$8,030	$6,920	FY2020-21
Total spending	$28.4 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$29.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	149	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	14.2	15.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	264	358	2024-25

Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The North Carolina median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

Leadership

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Todd Murphy

Superintendent, Polk County Schools

Source: NC Department of Public Instruction, EDDIE, checked 2026-10-19. Report a change

In the news

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We haven't matched any stories to Polk County Schools yet. Recent North Carolina coverage is on the North Carolina page.

Peer districts in North Carolina

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Halifax County SchoolsHalifax	2,150	11	$14,488	14.1	#88
Thomasville City SchoolsThomasville	2,149	4	$13,161	19.0	#89
Yancey County SchoolsBurnsville	2,149	6	$12,782	15.0	#90
Polk County SchoolsColumbus · this district	2,110	7	$12,894	14.2	#91
Caswell County SchoolsYanceyville	2,098	6	$11,161	15.1	#92

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Potosi R-IIIPotosi, MO	2,110	$10,549	13.4
Waverly School District 145Waverly, NE	2,110	$11,692	14.2
Buckeye LocalMedina, OH	2,110	$10,687	19.7
Dorchester 04St. George, SC	2,110	$16,722	12.2

Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.

Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-nc-polk-county-schools