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Gallatin Gateway, Montana - 3 schools
An equity score of 38/100 ranks Big Sky School K-12 #65 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,830 per pupil, Big Sky School K-12 ranks #253 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
432
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$13,830
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Big Sky School K-12 operates 3 public schools serving 432 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle 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 $13,830 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 83.8% local, 14.5% state, and 1.7% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 38/100, ranked #65 of 141 in Montana against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 151:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 41.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 87.4% White, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ophir Elementary School, with a diversity index of 31.5/100.
Its largest campus is Ophir Elementary School, enrolling 169 students (44% of the district's total enrollment).
Ophir Elementary School accounts for 39.1% of all Big Sky School K-12 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Big Sky School K-12-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Big Sky School K-12 student-counselor ratio is 151:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Big Sky School K-12 chronic absenteeism rate is 41.6% — 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.
Big Sky School K-12 has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 432 students.
How much does Big Sky School K-12 spend per student?
Big Sky School K-12 spends $13,830 per student. The district has an equity score of 38/100, ranking #65 in Montana.
What is the demographic composition of Big Sky School K-12?
Big Sky School K-12 students are 87.4% White, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% African American, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Big Sky School K-12?
Big Sky School K-12 has an equity score of 38/100, ranking #65 out of 141 districts in Montana.