Rankin County School District
The Rankin County School District is the 3rd largest public school district in Mississippi. The district office is located in Brandon, Mississippi (USA). In addition to Brandon, the district serves most of Rankin County, including the communities of Florence, Flowood, Pelahatchie, Puckett, Richland, and Sandhill. History. In 2013, RCSD was the defendant in a federal lawsuit regarding religion in public schools after Northwest Rankin High School subjected students to mandatory Christian assemblies. The case settled, but in 2014 the RCSD violated the settlement by inviting a Methodist preacher to lead a prayer during a District wide  awards ceremony. Judge Carlton Reeves of Mississippi's Southern District ruled in favor of the Plaintiff in 2015. In 2014 board president Cecil McCrory, a former member of the Mississippi Legislature, resigned from his position prior to a federal indictment for corruption activities, involving private prison contracts with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. McCrory and Epps pleaded guilty to federal charges in February of the following year. Demographics. In 2017 22% of the students were black. That year, under Mississippi school accountability rankings, the district received an "A". 2006-07 school year. There were a total of 17,398 students enrolled  in the Rankin County School District during the 2006–2007 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 49% female and 51% male. The racial makeup of the district was 21.54% African American, 75.91% White, 1.32% Hispanic, 1.14% Asian, and 0.09% Native American. 27.7% of the district's students were eligible to receive free lunch.