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Watertown, South Dakota - 10 schools
An equity score of 27/100 ranks Watertown School District 14-4 #106 of 121 districts in South Dakota (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,475 per pupil, Watertown School District 14-4 ranks #145 of 149 South Dakota districts by per-pupil spending (South Dakota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,803
Total Enrollment
10
Schools
$9,475
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Watertown School District 14-4 operates 10 public schools serving 3,803 students, placing it among the smaller districts in South Dakota. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 3 combined, 1 high, 1 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 Codington County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,475 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 15 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 49.1% local, 34.2% state, and 16.7% 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 27/100, ranked #106 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 10 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 408.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 19.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.4% White, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mellette Elementary - 07, with a diversity index of 45.6/100.
Its largest campus is Watertown High School - 01, enrolling 1,222 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Sunrise Colony - 15, at 20 students, a 61x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Watertown High School - 01 accounts for 31.5% of all Watertown School District 14-4 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Watertown School District 14-4-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Watertown School District 14-4 school enrollment varies 61× across entities
Watertown School District 14-4 school enrollment ranges from 20 students (lowest) to 1,222 students (highest), a spread of 1,202 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Watertown School District 14-4 student-counselor ratio is 409:1 — 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.
Watertown School District 14-4 chronic absenteeism rate is 19.2% — 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 Watertown School District 14-4 is typically wider than the Watertown School District 14-4-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Watertown School District 14-4's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in South Dakota
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Watertown School District 14-4?
Watertown School District 14-4 has 10 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 5 elementary, 3 combined. Total enrollment is 3,803 students.
How much does Watertown School District 14-4 spend per student?
Watertown School District 14-4 spends $9,475 per student. The district has an equity score of 27/100, ranking #106 in South Dakota.
What is the demographic composition of Watertown School District 14-4?
Watertown School District 14-4 students are 81.4% White, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% African American, averaged across 10 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Watertown School District 14-4?
Watertown School District 14-4 has an equity score of 27/100, ranking #106 out of 121 districts in South Dakota.