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Huxley, Iowa - 4 schools
An equity score of 26/100 ranks Ballard Comm School District #261 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,121 per pupil, Ballard Comm School District ranks #296 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,969
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,121
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Ballard Comm School District operates 4 public schools serving 1,969 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Story County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,121 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 33 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 43.0% local, 49.4% state, and 7.5% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 26/100, ranked #261 of 303 in Iowa against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (5 AP courses district-wide), a 394.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 15.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.8% White, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ballard West Elementary, with a diversity index of 17.0/100.
Its largest campus is Ballard High School, enrolling 586 students (31% of the district's total enrollment).
Ballard High School accounts for 29.8% of all Ballard Comm School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Ballard Comm School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Ballard Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 395:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Ballard Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 15.6% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Ballard Comm School District is typically wider than the Ballard Comm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Ballard Comm School District?
Ballard Comm School District has 4 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,969 students.
How much does Ballard Comm School District spend per student?
Ballard Comm School District spends $11,121 per student. The district has an equity score of 26/100, ranking #261 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Ballard Comm School District?
Ballard Comm School District students are 91.8% White, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% African American, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Ballard Comm School District?
Ballard Comm School District has an equity score of 26/100, ranking #261 out of 303 districts in Iowa.