Report: Brandon Valley spends about $9,982 per student, presenter says district ranks near bottom statewide

Brandon Valley School District officials told the school board that the district’s per-pupil spending stands at $9,982, placing the district near the lower end of South Dakota’s 148 school districts.

‘‘The document shows that Brandon Valley spends $9,982 per student,’’ Speaker 3 told the board during a review of statewide per-pupil spending. He said three main variables drive per-student spending differences across the state: the presence of local opt-outs, variation in federal revenue, and capital outlay flexibility. Speaker 3 said the district used $1,400,000 in capital outlay transfers to the general fund this year and projects an increase next year.

Context: presenters noted that 66 out of 148 districts have an opt-out, which affects local revenue capacity. Speaker 3 described Brandon Valley as ‘‘very efficient’’ in delivering district services given the spending level and cited student performance alongside staffing choices when discussing results.

Numbers and ambiguity: presenters provided the $9,982 per-student figure directly; however, a phrase about the district’s rank in the transcript was unclear (the speaker said a numeric rank but the wording was garbled). To avoid misstating the record, this report describes the district’s placement as ‘‘near the bottom of the state’s 148 districts’’ per the presenter’s characterization rather than reproducing the unclear rank text.

Next steps and budget timeline: the administration said it will present a five-year plan at a February meeting, pursue staffing approvals in March, and show a preliminary capital-outlay budget in May with a public budget hearing in July.

No formal budget decision was taken at the meeting; the board received the data report and asked no substantive follow-up vote on the spending figure at that time.