Chester School District

Public school district · Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region · Connecticut · NCES district ID 0900780

Chester School District spent $30,545 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, more than 72% of the other Connecticut districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022 (median $25,254). Its one school enrolled 198 students in 2024-25; 27.6% of its revenue came from the state. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $34,396 per student, up 12.6% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).

NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 · Census Bureau school finances 2023-24 · NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · method

Spending per student among Connecticut districts of similar size

Current spending per student excludes construction and debt. The 9 districts closest to Chester in enrollment (192 to 250 students) and Chester itself.

Current spending per student, Connecticut districts closest in size to Chester, FY23Deep River $37,198; Kent $36,954; Chester $30,545; North Canaan $29,479; Regional School District 11 $29,307; Voluntown Elementary School $26,708; Andover $25,254; The Barkhamsted School $24,124; Common Ground High $21,354; Side by Side Charter School $14,614; State median, under 1,000 students $25,254.10k20k30k40kDeep River$37,198Kent$36,954Chester$30,545North Canaan$29,479Regional School District 11$29,307Voluntown Elementary School$26,708Andover$25,254The Barkhamsted School$24,124Common Ground High$21,354Side by Side Charter School$14,614State median, under 1,000 students $25,254
Current spending per student, Connecticut districts closest in size to Chester, FY23Deep River $37,198; Kent $36,954; Chester $30,545; North Canaan $29,479; Regional School District 11 $29,307; Voluntown Elementary School $26,708; Andover $25,254; The Barkhamsted School $24,124; Common Ground High $21,354; Side by Side Charter School $14,614; State median, under 1,000 students $25,254.10k20k30k40kDeep River$37,198Kent$36,954Chester$30,545North Canaan$29,479Regional School District 11$29,307Voluntown Elementary School$26,708Andover$25,254The Barkhamsted School$24,124Common Ground High$21,354Side by Side Charter School$14,614State median, under 1,000 students $25,254
Current spending per student, Connecticut districts closest in size to Chester, FY23Deep River $37,198; Kent $36,954; Chester $30,545; North Canaan $29,479; Regional School District 11 $29,307; Voluntown Elementary School $26,708; Andover $25,254; The Barkhamsted School $24,124; Common Ground High $21,354; Side by Side Charter School $14,614; State median, under 1,000 students $25,254.10k20k30k40kDeep River$37,198Kent$36,954Chester$30,545North Canaan$29,479Regional School District 11$29,307Voluntown Elementary School$26,708Andover$25,254The Barkhamsted School$24,124Common Ground High$21,354Side by Side Charter School$14,614State median, under 1,000 students $25,254
Current spending per student, Connecticut districts closest in size to Chester, FY23Deep River $37,198; Kent $36,954; Chester $30,545; North Canaan $29,479; Regional School District 11 $29,307; Voluntown Elementary School $26,708; Andover $25,254; The Barkhamsted School $24,124; Common Ground High $21,354; Side by Side Charter School $14,614; State median, under 1,000 students $25,254.10k20k30k40kDeep River$37,198Kent$36,954Chester$30,545North Canaan$29,479Regional School District 11$29,307Voluntown Elementary School$26,708Andover$25,254The Barkhamsted School$24,124Common Ground High$21,354Side by Side Charter School$14,614State median, under 1,000 students $25,254

Where the money came from

$6,798,000 in revenue: 27.6% state, 66.8% local and 5.6% federal. Total spending including $1,000 of capital outlay was $6,782,000, or $30,550 per student; the figure above leaves capital out.

Chester School District revenue by source, fiscal year 2022-23State $1,877,000; Local $4,541,000; Federal $380,000; total $6,798,000.
  • State$1,877,000 28%
  • Local$4,541,000 67%
  • Federal$380,000 6%

Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures for elementary and secondary education divided by fall membership; the state median covers 77 districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022. Revenue by source (TOTALREV, TFEDREV, TSTREV, TLOCREV).

Enrollment fell from 2022-23 to 2024-25

222 students in 2022-23, 207 students in 2023-24, 198 students in 2024-25, counted across the schools that reported each year.

Chester School District enrollment by school year2022-23: 222, 2023-24: 207, 2024-25: 19801002003002022-232222023-242072024-25198
Chester School District enrollment by school year2022-23: 222, 2023-24: 207, 2024-25: 19801002003002022-232222023-242072024-25198
Chester School District enrollment by school year2022-23: 222, 2023-24: 207, 2024-25: 19801002003002022-232222023-242072024-25198
Chester School District enrollment by school year2022-23: 222, 2023-24: 207, 2024-25: 19801002003002022-232222023-242072024-25198

Teachers and students per teacher

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Per teacher
2022-23222not reportednot reported
2023-2420721.59.6
2024-25198not reportednot reported

Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; sums over the schools reporting each year.

$1,951,000 in teacher salaries in fiscal year 2022-23, $8,788 per student

Chester School District booked $1,951,000 of teacher salaries in its 2022-23 finance report and counted 21 full-time teachers in its Common Core of Data district staff file for 2022-23 (the school files behind the staffing figures on this page count teachers separately, so the two can differ), or $92,028 of salary spending per teacher. That is more than 70 in 100 Connecticut districts with a figure (state median $84,824, 173 districts). It is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, so the result can differ widely from the average salary the district publishes (its salary schedule gives pay); benefits are left out, and states book salaries differently, so compare districts within one state. For pay, the National Education Association put the average Connecticut teacher salary at $81,185 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).

ProgramTeacher salariesShare
Regular programs$1,529,00078.4%
Special education$269,00013.8%
Other programs$153,0007.8%

Teacher salaries per student, fiscal years 2018-19 to 2022-23

The district's teacher salary bill divided by its fall enrollment each year: $9,531 in 2018-19, $9,011 in 2019-20, $9,105 in 2020-21, $8,703 in 2021-22, $8,788 in 2022-23.

Chester School District teacher salaries per student by fiscal year2018-19: $9,531, 2019-20: $9,011, 2020-21: $9,105, 2021-22: $8,703, 2022-23: $8,78802.5k5k7.5k10k2018-19$9,5312019-20$9,0112020-21$9,1052021-22$8,7032022-23$8,788
Chester School District teacher salaries per student by fiscal year2018-19: $9,531, 2019-20: $9,011, 2020-21: $9,105, 2021-22: $8,703, 2022-23: $8,78802.5k5k7.5k10k2018-19$9,5312019-20$9,0112020-21$9,1052021-22$8,7032022-23$8,788
Chester School District teacher salaries per student by fiscal year2018-19: $9,531, 2019-20: $9,011, 2020-21: $9,105, 2021-22: $8,703, 2022-23: $8,78802.5k5k7.5k10k2018-19$9,5312019-20$9,0112020-21$9,1052021-22$8,7032022-23$8,788
Chester School District teacher salaries per student by fiscal year2018-19: $9,531, 2019-20: $9,011, 2020-21: $9,105, 2021-22: $8,703, 2022-23: $8,78802.5k5k7.5k10k2018-19$9,5312019-20$9,0112020-21$9,1052021-22$8,7032022-23$8,788

Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal years 2019 to 2023: teacher salaries in regular, special, vocational and other programs (Z35 to Z38) and fall membership (V33); NCES Common Core of Data LEA staff file 2022-23, teachers (full-time equivalent).

State test results, 2021-22

In 2021-22, the students tested in Chester School District scored proficient or above: 70-74% in reading and 70-74% in math, against 50.5% in reading and 39.8% in math across Connecticut. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within Connecticut, not across states.

Students proficient or above, 2021-22
SubjectThis districtConnecticutStudents tested
Reading and language arts70-74%50.5%109
Math70-74%39.8%109

Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (the Data Rescue Project archive; ED has no 2022-23 result for this district): ED shows district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.

1 elementary school, 198 students

SchoolStudentsPer teacherFree lunchTitle I, 2021‑22
Chester Elementary School198not reported25.3%Targeted program

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.

Contact Chester School District

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, local education agency directory 2024-25. Enrollment, boundaries and school assignment are the district's to confirm.

What to look at next about Chester School District

  1. Connecticut districts by spending per studentChester School District ranks 22 of 77 Connecticut districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022 on current spending per student in fiscal year 2022-23 ($30,545).#22 of 77
  2. Every school district in ConnecticutChester School District is the number 180 by size of 201 Connecticut districts, with 222 students in fall 2022 (F-33).#180 of 201
  3. Regional School District 11The next larger Connecticut district: 225 students in fall 2022, $29,307 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$29,307
  4. The Barkhamsted SchoolThe next smaller Connecticut district: 209 students in fall 2022, $24,124 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$24,124
  5. Compare Chester School District with Regional School District 11Enrollment, spending, revenue sources and schools, side by side.
  6. Teacher salary spending across ConnecticutChester School District spent $92,028 in salaries per full-time teacher in fiscal year 2022-23 (state median $84,824); spending, not a salary.$92,028
  7. Find the school district for an addressA home's district decides which public schools it can enroll in.

Source: NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student and fall 2022 membership; ranks among the state's districts that reported them); NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools).

Questions about Chester School District

  1. How many schools and students are in Chester School District?
    One school was open in 2024-25 (1 elementary), enrolling 198 students, according to the NCES Common Core of Data.
  2. How much does Chester School District spend per student?
    $30,545 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), which leaves out construction and debt; the Connecticut median for districts with fewer than 1,000 students in fall 2022 is $25,254 and the U.S. figure is $16,260. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $34,396 per student, up 12.6% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).
  3. Where does Chester School District's money come from?
    $6,798,000 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23: 27.6% state, 66.8% local and 5.6% federal (NCES F-33).
  4. How many children in Chester School District live in poverty?
    The Census Bureau estimates that 10 of the 207 children aged 5 to 17 living within the district's boundaries in 2024, 4.8%, were in families in poverty (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It is a model-based estimate for everyone living in the district, not a count of its students; the free-meal shares in the school tables are counts of enrolled students.
  5. How much does Chester School District spend on teacher salaries?
    $1,951,000 in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), or $8,788 per student. Divided by the 21 full-time teachers in the NCES Common Core of Data for 2022-23 that is $92,028 per teacher, more than 70 in 100 Connecticut districts (state median $84,824). That is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, and the result can differ widely from the average salary a district publishes. The district's salary schedule gives pay. For pay, the National Education Association put the average Connecticut teacher salary at $81,185 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).
  6. How do students in Chester School District do on state tests?
    In 2021-22, the students tested in Chester School District scored proficient or above: 70-74% in reading and 70-74% in math, against 50.5% in reading and 39.8% in math across Connecticut. Connecticut's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22.
  7. What is Chester School District's NCES district ID?
    0900780. Each of its schools' 12-digit NCES IDs begins with these seven digits.

Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.

Sources

Every federal file behind this record
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
  • Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
  • EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
  • EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
  • NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 211.60 (2021-22): the state's average teacher salary, from the National Education Association. nces.ed.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024: children aged 5 to 17 and those in families in poverty, by school district. census.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2023-24: per pupil current spending for 2023-24 and 2022-23. census.gov
  • NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances Per pupil current spending by school system · FY 2023-24

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Revenue and expenditures by district · FY 2022-23

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25

Compiled from official source data by .