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Belgrade, Montana - 4 schools
An equity score of 27/100 ranks Belgrade Elem #103 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,061 per pupil, Belgrade Elem ranks #349 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,374
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,061
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Belgrade Elem operates 4 public schools serving 2,374 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 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 Gallatin County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,061 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Montana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 43.9% local, 37.8% state, and 18.3% 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 27/100, ranked #103 of 141 in Montana against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 351.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 36.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 79.2% White, 14.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Saddle Peak Elementary, with a diversity index of 44.6/100.
Its largest campus is Belgrade Middle School, enrolling 978 students (43% of the district's total enrollment).
Belgrade Middle School accounts for 41.2% of all Belgrade Elem student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Belgrade Elem-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Belgrade Elem school enrollment varies 2.4× across entities
Belgrade Elem school enrollment ranges from 416 students (lowest) to 978 students (highest), a spread of 562 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Belgrade Elem student-counselor ratio is 351:1 — 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.
Belgrade Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 36.1% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.