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Cascade, Montana - 2 schools
An equity score of 29/100 ranks Cascade Elem #99 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,460 per pupil, Cascade Elem ranks #300 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
221
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$12,460
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cascade Elem operates 2 public schools serving 221 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 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 Cascade County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,460 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 36.0% local, 39.5% state, and 24.5% 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 29/100, ranked #99 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 292:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 24.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.4% White, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Cascade School, enrolling 144 students (66% of the district's total enrollment).
Cascade School accounts for 65.2% of all Cascade Elem student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Cascade Elem a distant remainder — means Cascade Elem-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.
Cascade Elem student-counselor ratio is 292:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Cascade Elem is typically wider than the Cascade Elem-aggregate figure suggests.
Cascade Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 24.0% — 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 Cascade Elem is typically wider than the Cascade Elem-aggregate figure suggests.