Centennial SD presents winter assessment gains and a district spending analysis showing high investment in instruction

Centennial School District officials reported substantial winter academic gains and outlined district spending priorities during the Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 25, 2025.

The presentation combined two reports: a per-pupil spending analysis shared with district leaders and a midyear snapshot of local assessment results. Dr. Benin, a district official, summarized the spending review and said the analysis showed Centennial ‘‘spends more money on instruction than anybody in the Southeast’’ the analysts compared against and that administrative spending is unusually low by comparison.

The assessment presentation, given by Mr. Ruts of the Office of Teaching and Learning, showed winter diagnostic results for DIBELS (K–3), i-Ready (K–8 reading and math) and IXL (grades 9–11). ‘‘This shows that 16 percent of our students moved from tiers 2 and 3 into tier 1 based on their growth on the winter diagnostic assessment,’’ Mr. Ruts said, noting that the 16 percent represents about 600 students — roughly 23 classrooms — who improved enough to be reclassified into the top tier for K–8 reading.

Nut graf: The district portrayed the data as evidence of multi-year improvement and of targeted spending choices that prioritize instruction and pupil services, while acknowledging trade-offs such as long-term debt taken to fund capital work and relatively high transportation costs.

Most important facts: Dr. Benin gave per-pupil figures from the outside analysis: $10,499 per pupil for basic programs and $15,303 per pupil for ‘‘added needs and adult continuing education’’ (the district noted it does not run adult continuing education). The analysis also showed $2,061 per pupil allocated to long-term debt and about $1,600 per pupil for pupil services. Dr. Benin highlighted that only about 0.675% of per-pupil spending went to general administration and roughly 4.9% to school administration.

On transportation, Dr. Benin said Centennial transports more than 4,000 of its approximately 5,300 students, which she described as a deliberate choice that carries cost implications; she cited a per-pupil transportation figure of about $1,255.

On assessments, Mr. Ruts walked the board through the DIBELS and i-Ready results. For K–8 reading, he said Centennial had reached 83% of the national midyear growth norm for the year-to-date period (compared with a national norm of 55%). In K–8 math, he said about 17 percent of students moved from tiers 2/3 into tier 1, a change he said represented more than 600 students. At the high school, composite IXL scores for grades 9–11 showed gains in several reading categories and generally positive algebraic-thinking growth; Mr. Ruts noted a slight 0.4 percentage-point decrease in one geometry measure for grade 11.

Board members asked clarifying questions about rounding and how the district computed percentage changes in i-Ready; Mr. Gennhardt asked why some percentages appeared inconsistent and Mr. Ginhart explained that rounding rules in the vendor report can produce small apparent discrepancies. Board members praised the multi-year trend and emphasized the district’s ‘‘systems approach’’ — citing instructional coaches, specialists and building-level supports — as central to the gains.

Ending: Presenters said the results reflect several years of work and committed to continuing alignment of curriculum, standards and frequent progress monitoring. No formal action was taken specifically on the assessment presentation; related budget and purchase items were addressed elsewhere on the agenda.