Enrollment
21
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lima, MT
Lima School
Federal NCES profile for Lima School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 301671000519
👥 S:T ratio 72
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 86
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lima School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Montana schools.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Lima · Resource Index
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 7:1
- small classes for Montana
- 21
- students enrolled
Lima School has class sizes smaller than 84% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Lima School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Lima, MT.
School address
District: Lima K-12 Schools · Montana
NCES ID 301671000519 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lima School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lima School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Lima School sits near the smaller end of the Montana enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Lima School's 57.1% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Lima School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Lima, Montana, enrolling 21 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 21 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 70 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 57.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Lima K-12 Schools spends $25,467 per pupil, 28% above the Montana average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 19.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Lima K-12 Schools also operates Lima High School (13 students) and Lima 7-8 (5 students) alongside Lima School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Lima School compares
Lima School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 7:1 | ▼ 41% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 21 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
7:1
Leaner classes than 97% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
21
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
7:1
students per teacher
- 41% below state mean
Top 16% in Montana - lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
57.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$25,467
per pupil, district-wide
- above Montana avg of $19,859
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 90.5%
Hispanic or Latino 9.5%
Largest group: White at 90.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.2, Lima School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lima K-12 Schools, which includes Lima School.
$25,467
Per student
+28%
vs Montana
Avg $19,859
+44%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 41.0%
State 39.5%
Federal 19.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Lima School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lima High School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lima 7-8 | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lima School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 13
- Students per teacher
- 3.3:1
- Resource Index
- 63/100
- Enrollment
- 5
- Students per teacher
- 5:1
- Resource Index
- 64/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~21 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lima School's federal record.
- Compare Lima School against another school. Compare schools
- Lima K-12 Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Lima School
How many students attend Lima School?
Lima School has 21 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lima, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lima School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lima School is 7:1, which is 41% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 55% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lima School?
The largest demographic group at Lima School is White at 90.5% of enrollment, in Lima, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lima School?
Lima School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Lima School rank among public schools in Lima?
By Resource Investment Index, Lima School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Lima, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking.
What other schools are in Lima K-12 Schools?
Besides Lima School, Lima K-12 Schools also operates Lima High School (13 students) and Lima 7-8 (5 students). See the Lima K-12 Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.