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Columbia Falls, Montana - 3 schools
An equity score of 29/100 ranks Columbia Falls Elem #92 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,667 per pupil, Columbia Falls Elem ranks #333 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,562
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$11,667
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Columbia Falls Elem operates 3 public schools serving 1,562 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Flathead County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,667 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, 37.7% 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 29/100, ranked #92 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 410.5:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 41.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 85.6% White, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ruder Elementary, with a diversity index of 27.0/100.
Its largest campus is Columbia Falls Jr Hs, enrolling 547 students (36% of the district's total enrollment).
Columbia Falls Jr Hs accounts for 35.0% of all Columbia Falls Elem student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Columbia Falls Elem-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: middle. 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.
Columbia Falls Elem student-counselor ratio is 411:1 — 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.
Columbia Falls Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 41.8% — 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.