Enrollment: flat over ten years (-0.2%)
Average daily membership, grades K to 12, is the count the state funds on. Shelby County Schools had 106,455 in 2015-16 and 106,216 in 2024-25. Low point was 101,568 in 2021-22. Tennessee as a whole moved +0.4% over the same ten years.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education, Annual Statistical Report, Table 7 (average daily membership K to 12), school years 2015-16 to 2024-25. Rounded to whole students.
Where the money comes from
In 2024-25, 32.3% of Shelby County Schools' revenue receipts were local, 48.5% state and 19.2% federal, against a Tennessee mix of 39.0% local, 49.1% state and 12.0% federal. In 2015-16 the local share was 40.5%. The local share is what rides on Shelby County's property tax rate, which is the next section.
- 2015-16 L 41 S 42 F 18
- 2016-17 L 41 S 40 F 19
- 2017-18 L 38 S 44 F 18
- 2018-19 L 39 S 45 F 16
- 2019-20 L 39 S 47 F 14
- 2020-21 L 38 S 43 F 19
- 2021-22 L 34 S 37 F 29
- 2022-23 L 32 S 35 F 33
- 2023-24 L 32 S 43 F 25
- 2024-25 L 32 S 49 F 19
local (L) state (S) federal (F) percent of revenue receipts, excluding non-revenue receipts such as bond proceeds
Source: Tennessee Department of Education, Annual Statistical Report, Table 19 (revenue receipts by source), school years 2015-16 to 2024-25. Percentages are the Department's own.
TISA, the state formula, FY2025-26
Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funds a base amount per student plus weights, and splits the total between a state share and a required local contribution. For Shelby County Schools the State Board's final FY2025-26 allocation is $1,143,699,946 on 110,138 ADM, which is $10,384 per student: $8,025 state and $2,359 local contribution (77.3% state).
| FY2024-25 | FY2025-26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total TISA allocation | $1,109,229,363 | $1,143,699,946 |
| Base funding | $786,253,418 | $803,459,632 |
| Weighted funding | $271,477,536 | $288,118,651 |
| Direct funding | $51,498,409 | $52,121,663 |
| State share | $853,683,626 | $883,913,847 |
| Local contribution | $255,545,737 | $259,786,100 |
| ADM in the formula | 111,131.23 | 110,138.4 |
| Allocation per ADM | $9,981 | $10,384 |
| State share per ADM | $7,682 | $8,025 |
Source: Tennessee State Board of Education, FY2024-25 TISA Allocations (August 16, 2024) and FY2025-26 TISA Final Allocations (August 15, 2025). Per-ADM figures divide the allocation by the ADM in the same document. Census SAIPE 2024 estimates 45,255 of 129,725 children aged 5 to 17 in the district's area (34.9%) live in poverty, which is the main driver of the federal share and of the TISA weights.
Spending per pupil: $14,595 in 2024-25
Current operating expenditure per enrolled student was $11,799 in 2018-19 and $14,595 in 2024-25 (+23.7%). Tennessee's figure moved +39.2% to $13,866, so Shelby County Schools spent $729 more per student than the state average in 2024-25. Operating expenditure was $1538.9 million in 2024-25; it leaves out capital projects and debt service.
| Year | Enrollment, Oct 1 | Per pupil | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 106,307 | $11,799 | $9,959 |
| 2019-20 | 107,420 | $11,168 | $10,047 |
| 2020-21 | 106,988 | $11,540 | $10,820 |
| 2021-22 | 102,226 | $14,073 | $11,474 |
| 2022-23 | 104,941 | $14,266 | $12,293 |
| 2023-24 | 105,202 | $15,005 | $13,658 |
| 2024-25 | 105,439 | $14,595 | $13,866 |
Source: Tennessee Department of Education, Annual Statistical Report, Table 51 (current operating expenditures per enrollment), school years 2018-19 to 2024-25, the years published under the Department's current calculation method. Earlier years divided by average daily attendance and are not comparable, so they are not shown.
Shelby County's certified rate, which the local share rides on
The local share above is mostly Shelby County property tax. The county's certified rate is 2.69 per $100 assessed in 2025, after a reset of 21% in 2025. A reset is the certified-rate rollback after reappraisal, not a cut: the rate falls because the appraisals rose, and school revenue is meant to come out level. The year after a reset is the one place a change is a real increase. Open Shelby County's own page for the bill on a $300,000 home and the retail base.
Your county reset its rate in 2025, with 21 others
Peer groups are always by size. Nobody groups counties by reappraisal year, yet that is the group whose budget conversation matches yours this year. Tennessee's certified tax rate law rolls the county rate down after a reappraisal, so a drop is a reset, not a cut. The one place a change is a real increase is the year right after. Tap a county in the cohort list to draw its line over yours.
The 2025 cohort, county rate 2025. Tap to overlay.
* someone from this county is at TGFOA 2026. Up to four overlays at once. Reset years are inferred from the rate path; the Comptroller's reappraisal schedule is the authoritative list.
Two report card measures
The State Report Card publishes dozens of measures. These two are current, defined the same way for every district, and do not need a footnote to compare: the share of students who missed 10% or more of the days they were enrolled (all students, all grades), and the share of the ninth-grade cohort who graduated in four years (state definition).
| Measure | Year | Shelby system | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronically absent | 2023-24 | 29.5% | 18.9% |
| Chronically absent | 2024-25 | 30.2% | 18.3% |
| Graduation rate | class of 2024 | 83.4% | 92.1% |
| Graduation rate | class of 2025 | 84.4% | 92.3% |
The TDOE files name this system Memphis-Shelby County Schools from 2022-23; it is district 792 in every year.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education data downloads, district and state chronic absenteeism files for 2023-24 and 2024-25, and district and state graduation rate files for the classes of 2024 and 2025 (state rate; the federal rate is also published and runs lower).
Compare with another system
The other systems in the room first, then the five nearest by enrollment among all Tennessee districts. Same files, same year, every row.