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De Smet, South Dakota - 3 schools
An equity score of 40/100 ranks De Smet School District 38-2 #78 of 121 districts in South Dakota (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,298 per pupil, De Smet School District 38-2 ranks #63 of 149 South Dakota districts by per-pupil spending (South Dakota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
327
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$13,298
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
De Smet School District 38-2 operates 3 public schools serving 327 students, placing it among the smallest districts in South Dakota. 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 Kingsbury County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,298 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 149 South Dakota districts by per-pupil spending. See how South Dakota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 63.6% local, 22.4% state, and 14.0% 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 40/100, ranked #78 of 121 in South Dakota against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 362.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 10.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 89.4% White, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary - 02, with a diversity index of 24.7/100.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary - 02 accounts for 48.6% of all De Smet School District 38-2 student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of De Smet School District 38-2 a distant remainder — means De Smet School District 38-2-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.
De Smet School District 38-2 student-counselor ratio is 363:1 — 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.
De Smet School District 38-2 chronic absenteeism rate is 10.1% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
How many schools are in De Smet School District 38-2?
De Smet School District 38-2 has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 327 students.
How much does De Smet School District 38-2 spend per student?
De Smet School District 38-2 spends $13,298 per student. The district has an equity score of 40/100, ranking #78 in South Dakota.
What is the demographic composition of De Smet School District 38-2?
De Smet School District 38-2 students are 89.4% White, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for De Smet School District 38-2?
De Smet School District 38-2 has an equity score of 40/100, ranking #78 out of 121 districts in South Dakota.