Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Great Falls, Montana - 17 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Great Falls Elem #66 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,418 per pupil, Great Falls Elem ranks #303 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
7,032
Total Enrollment
17
Schools
$12,418
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Great Falls Elem operates 17 public schools serving 7,032 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 15 combined, 2 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. 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 $12,418 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 33.9% local, 38.7% state, and 27.4% 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 37/100, ranked #66 of 141 in Montana against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 355:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 46.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 67.2% White, 9.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Longfellow School, with a diversity index of 72.0/100.
Its largest campus is North Middle School, enrolling 764 students (11% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Whittier School, at 187 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Great Falls Elem school enrollment varies 4.1× across entities
Great Falls Elem school enrollment ranges from 187 students (lowest) to 764 students (highest), a spread of 577 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.
Great Falls Elem student-counselor ratio is 355:1 — 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.
Great Falls Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 46.9% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Great Falls Elem has 17 schools, including 2 middle, 15 combined. Total enrollment is 7,032 students.
How much does Great Falls Elem spend per student?
Great Falls Elem spends $12,418 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #66 in Montana.
What is the demographic composition of Great Falls Elem?
Great Falls Elem students are 67.2% White, 9.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American, 0.7% Asian, averaged across 17 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Great Falls Elem?
Great Falls Elem has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #66 out of 141 districts in Montana.