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.
West Yellowstone, Montana - 3 schools
An equity score of 26/100 ranks West Yellowstone K-12 #111 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,130 per pupil, West Yellowstone K-12 ranks #316 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
287
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$12,130
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
West Yellowstone K-12 operates 3 public schools serving 287 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high 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 Gallatin County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,130 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 59.5% local, 32.7% state, and 7.8% 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 26/100, ranked #111 of 141 in Montana against a state average of 38, notably less 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 (1 AP courses district-wide), a 296:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 32.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 52.9% White, 43.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is West Yellowstone Hs, with a diversity index of 52.9/100.
Its largest campus is West Yellowstone School, enrolling 127 students (50% of the district's total enrollment).
West Yellowstone School accounts for 44.3% of all West Yellowstone K-12 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means West Yellowstone K-12-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.
West Yellowstone K-12 school enrollment varies 2.1× across entities
West Yellowstone K-12 school enrollment ranges from 60 students (lowest) to 127 students (highest), a spread of 67 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.
West Yellowstone K-12 student-counselor ratio is 296:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within West Yellowstone K-12 is typically wider than the West Yellowstone K-12-aggregate figure suggests.
West Yellowstone K-12 chronic absenteeism rate is 32.8% — 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.