What Harrison County Schools does

Harrison County Schools is a public K-12 school district and government entity serving approximately 15,000 students across 24 schools within roughly 450 square miles of Harrison County, Mississippi. It is the 4th largest of Mississippi's 138 public school districts and holds the state's premier "A" accountability rating. The district is led by Superintendent William Bentz and is governed as a non-profit, publicly funded entity whose revenue is sourced from state per-pupil allocations, local property taxes, and federal program funds.

The district operates a broad administrative, instructional, and transportation service platform. Its core technology stack includes Microsoft Office 365 for productivity, Schoology as the learning management system, PowerSchool as the student information system, Clever for single sign-on, ParentSquare/StudentSquare for family communication, Vector Training for safety and compliance training, IncidentIQ for IT service management, BoardBook Premier for board governance, ActiveResources, Transfinder for bus routing, and Stopfinder for student address lookup. For the 2026-27 school year the district is launching the Stopfinder School Bus App to give families GPS and route visibility over its existing fleet of 185 drivers logging roughly 1.5 million miles annually. It also supplements instruction with Paper tutoring and operates a 2026-2031 Strategic Plan covering academics, operations, and technology.

Commercially, the district is not a revenue-generating business in the conventional sense; it is a publicly funded service provider whose "customers" are the K-12 students and families residing within its legislatively defined service territory. Pricing (i.e., funding) is set by the Mississippi funding formula and federal allocation rules rather than by market transaction. Expansion, partnerships, and product decisions (e.g., community partnerships with Keesler Federal Credit Union and Huntington Learning Center, and the COPS in Schools program) are driven by educational mission and public-accountability considerations rather than commercial return.

Name

Harrison County Schools

Legal name

Harrison County School District

Website

https://harrison.k12.ms.us

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Harrison County Schools is a publicly funded K-12 district in Mississippi serving roughly 15,000 students across 24 schools. It operates as the 4th largest district in the state under a legislatively defined service territory, funded by state, local, and federal sources and led by Superintendent William Bentz.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public K-12 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Student Support & Related Services (Counseling, SEL, Health, Safety) (EDAJAAAK), School Counseling & Guidance Services (Academic/Social-Emotional) (EDAJALAF)

Keywords

• Public K-12 education
• Special education services
• Student transportation services
• Career technical education
• Child nutrition programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Gulfport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Government-funded public school district revenue from Mississippi state funding, local property taxes, and federal programs including Title I, Title III, IDEA special education funds, and other grants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Harrison County Schools operates a public K-12 school district delivering comprehensive instructional and student support services to approximately 15,000 students across 24 schools in Harrison County, Mississippi. Core offerings include general education, special education, career and technical education, gifted programs, English learner support, child nutrition, student transportation, and ancillary services such as nursing, counseling, and dropout prevention. The district supplements instruction with digital platforms for learning management, student information, family communication, and transportation tracking.

Product overview

Harrison County School District operates as a unified K-12 educational platform serving approximately 15,000 students across 24 schools in Gulfport, Mississippi. The district provides comprehensive educational services including general education, special education, career and technical education, gifted programs, and English learner support. Core infrastructure includes PowerSchool for student information management, Schoology for learning management, and ParentSquare/StudentSquare for family and student communication. Supporting services encompass student transportation (185 buses covering 1.5M miles annually), child nutrition programs, and special services for students with disabilities. The district is launching Stopfinder, a new bus transportation app, for the 2026-2027 school year. All schools have on-site nurses, counselors, and social workers to support student wellbeing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-12 Educational Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving approximately 15,000 students across 24 schools in a 450-square-mile district
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, minor and core.

• Keesler Federal Credit UnionmoderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026Keesler Federal Credit Union partners with HCSD through its Bright Futures initiative to donate school supplies (markers, crayons, pencils, erasers, folders, highlighters, glue sticks) to all kindergarten students for the 2026-27 school year. Parents receive supplies at no cost.
• Sponsors for Retiree BanquetminorOthers · 26 May 2026Sponsors for inaugural Retirees Celebration: Beatline Nursery, City of Gulfport Leisure Services, Harrison County Board of Supervisors, IP Casino & Resort, Lemon Tree Adams Flower Shop, Performance Foodservice. The event honored 67 retirees.
• Huntington Learning Center of GulfportminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 May 2026Local education partner that recognized Dr. Marcelene Hart as HCSD April District Novice Teacher of the Month, providing a $50 gift card, teacher supplies, and certificate of recognition.
• Harrison County Sheriff DepartmentcoreOthersLaw enforcement partnership through COPS in Schools program to ensure school safety and security. Works with district security director on safety programs.
• Gulfport Police DepartmentcoreOthersLaw enforcement partnership through COPS in Schools program for school safety and security coordination.
• D'Iberville Police DepartmentcoreOthersLaw enforcement partnership through COPS in Schools program for school safety and security coordination.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Madison County Schools: A top-rated Mississippi public K–12 district serving the Jackson metro area with a strong academic reputation and similar comprehensive support services. Directly comparable as an in-state peer competing for high-performing district status and family enrollment.
• Rankin County School District: A large, high-performing public K–12 district in central Mississippi with a similar comprehensive-programming model (CTE, special ed, athletics) and A-rated accreditation. Direct peer due to comparable size, public funding model, and programmatic breadth within MS.
• Petal School District: A mid-sized Mississippi public K–12 district in the Hattiesburg area. Direct in-state peer of similar scale operating under the same state funding formula and accountability framework, making it a useful comparison for HCSD's programming and outcomes.
• DeSoto County Schools: Mississippi's largest school district, serving more than 30,000 students across dozens of schools in DeSoto County. Highly comparable to HCSD as a public K–12 district in MS with similar grade-band structure, federal program reliance, and large-scale transportation operations, making it the most direct scale peer.
• Lamar County School District: A mid-sized Mississippi public K–12 district in the Hattiesburg metro area. Direct peer as another in-state public district of similar size profile and funding mix, with a comparable mix of elementary, middle, and high schools.
• Jackson Public School District: The state's second-largest public K–12 district and capital-city district, with comparable scale, Title I funding exposure, and full K–12 programming. Direct in-state peer, though operating in a different demographic and urban context than HCSD.

Regional players

• St. Tammany Parish Public Schools: A large, well-rated public K–12 district serving the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. Comparable as a Gulf Coast regional peer with similar demographic mix, suburban-coastal profile, and broad K–12 programming including CTE and special education.
• Mobile County Public Schools: The largest public school district on the Alabama Gulf Coast, serving a comparable coastal demographic with similar Title I, special ed, and ELL funding dynamics. Regional peer operating across the state line from HCSD with similar scale and programmatic structure.
• Biloxi Public School District: A smaller Mississippi Gulf Coast public K–12 district located adjacent to Harrison County. Comparable as a regional peer operating in the same Gulf Coast labor market and competing for the same coastal family demographic, though smaller in scale than HCSD.

Broad incumbents

• Gwinnett County Public Schools: The largest public school district in Georgia and one of the largest in the U.S., with extensive programming across K–12, special ed, CTE, and ELL. Broader-incumbent peer showing how a much larger comparable district operates its tech stack, transportation, and family engagement at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HarrisonCountySchoolDistrictMS

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries24 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Harrison County Schools