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Box Elder, South Dakota - 4 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks Douglas School District 51-1 #39 of 121 districts in South Dakota (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,366 per pupil, Douglas School District 51-1 ranks #80 of 149 South Dakota districts by per-pupil spending (South Dakota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,750
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$12,366
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Douglas School District 51-1 operates 4 public schools serving 2,750 students, placing it among the smallest districts in South Dakota. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 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 Pennington County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,366 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower 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 21.1% local, 47.1% state, and 31.8% 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 58/100, ranked #39 of 121 in South Dakota against a state average of 51, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (2 AP courses district-wide), a 407.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.5% White, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Patriot Elementary -06, with a diversity index of 56.1/100.
Its largest campus is Patriot Elementary -06, enrolling 982 students (35% of the district's total enrollment).
Patriot Elementary -06 accounts for 35.0% of all Douglas School District 51-1 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Douglas School District 51-1-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Douglas School District 51-1 school enrollment varies 2.2× across entities
Douglas School District 51-1 school enrollment ranges from 454 students (lowest) to 982 students (highest), a spread of 528 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Douglas School District 51-1 student-counselor ratio is 408:1 — 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.
Douglas School District 51-1 chronic absenteeism rate is 30.7% — 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.
How many schools are in Douglas School District 51-1?
Douglas School District 51-1 has 4 schools, including 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 2,750 students.
How much does Douglas School District 51-1 spend per student?
Douglas School District 51-1 spends $12,366 per student. The district has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #39 in South Dakota.
What is the demographic composition of Douglas School District 51-1?
Douglas School District 51-1 students are 65.5% White, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Douglas School District 51-1?
Douglas School District 51-1 has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #39 out of 121 districts in South Dakota.