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Whitefish, Montana - 2 schools
An equity score of 21/100 ranks Whitefish Elem #122 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,144 per pupil, Whitefish Elem ranks #315 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,313
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$12,144
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Whitefish Elem operates 2 public schools serving 1,313 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 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 Flathead County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,144 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 58.2% local, 30.7% state, and 11.1% 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 21/100, ranked #122 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.
a 329.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 21.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 89.2% White, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is L a Muldown School, enrolling 661 students (50% of the district's total enrollment).
L a Muldown School accounts for 50.2% of all Whitefish Elem student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Whitefish Elem a distant remainder — means Whitefish Elem-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.
Whitefish Elem student-counselor ratio is 330:1 — 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 Whitefish Elem is typically wider than the Whitefish Elem-aggregate figure suggests.
Whitefish Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 21.9% — 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 Whitefish Elem is typically wider than the Whitefish Elem-aggregate figure suggests.