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Des Moines, Iowa - 3 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Saydel Comm School District #73 of 303 districts in Iowa (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,530 per pupil, Saydel Comm School District ranks #38 of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending (Iowa districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,337
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$14,530
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Saydel Comm School District operates 3 public schools serving 1,337 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Iowa. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary 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 Polk County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,530 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 327 Iowa districts by per-pupil spending. See how Iowa compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 64.5% local, 24.9% state, and 10.6% 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 67/100, ranked #73 of 303 in Iowa against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 381.7:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 28.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.3% White, 20.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Woodside Middle School, with a diversity index of 50.5/100.
Its largest campus is Cornell Elementary School, enrolling 555 students (39% of the district's total enrollment).
Cornell Elementary School accounts for 39.4% of all Saydel Comm School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Saydel Comm School District-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.
Saydel Comm School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 52.3% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Saydel Comm School District student-counselor ratio is 382:1 — 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.
Saydel Comm School District chronic absenteeism rate is 28.3% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Saydel Comm School District is typically wider than the Saydel Comm School District-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Saydel Comm School District?
Saydel Comm School District has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,337 students.
How much does Saydel Comm School District spend per student?
Saydel Comm School District spends $14,530 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #73 in Iowa.
What is the demographic composition of Saydel Comm School District?
Saydel Comm School District students are 68.3% White, 20.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American, 0.4% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Saydel Comm School District?
Saydel Comm School District has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #73 out of 303 districts in Iowa.