This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Mississippi. Mississippians compose 0.95% of the total U.S. population, and the average density of the state is 60.7 people per square mile. In terms of education finance, the property tax is the sole form of local revenue for public education in Mississippi. In 1997, the Mississippi State Legislature signed into law the Education Enhancement Fund, which requires the state to appropriate $16 million each fiscal year to be distributed to the 152 school districts for maintenance and upkeep of the buildings, transportation, classroom supplies and technology, and other needed projects. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is headed by the State Superintendent of Education, who is appointed by the State Board of Education. The state has 1,047 public schools, organized into 152 separate districts that compose county districts and city districts. The state of Mississippi currently employs 45,902 professional employees for work in the public school system and an additional 34,242 classified employees. One of the state challenges, low achievement scores based on No Child Left Behind accountability measures, is improving. Between 2002 and 2004, Mississippians gained 4 percentage points in fourth-grade reading, and fourth-grade math proficiency increased by 8 percentage points. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)