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Lignite, North Dakota - 2 schools
At $22,657 per pupil, Burke Central 36 ranks #28 of 168 North Dakota districts by per-pupil spending (North Dakota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
83
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$22,657
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Burke Central 36 operates 2 public schools serving 83 students, placing it among the smallest districts in North Dakota. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined 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 Burke County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $22,657 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 168 North Dakota districts by per-pupil spending. See how North Dakota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 60.2% local, 29.1% state, and 10.7% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers.
a 47.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 19.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.5% White, 8.3% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% African American across the district's schools.
Burke Central Elementary School accounts for 54.7% of all Burke Central 36 student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Burke Central 36 a distant remainder — means Burke Central 36-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: combined. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Because it contains a majority of the affected population, enrollment-weighted aggregates will sit closer to this entity's reported fields than to those of smaller peers; an unweighted entity count answers a different question.
Burke Central 36 student-counselor ratio is 48:1 — 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.
Burke Central 36 chronic absenteeism rate is 19.1% — 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 Burke Central 36 is typically wider than the Burke Central 36-aggregate figure suggests.
Burke Central 36 has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 83 students.
How much does Burke Central 36 spend per student?
Burke Central 36 spends $22,657 per student.
What is the demographic composition of Burke Central 36?
Burke Central 36 students are 81.5% White, 8.3% Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.