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School district · Montana · LEAID 3023940

Shepherd Elem

Shepherd Elem is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable Montana districts (562 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Shepherd Elem come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$50,579
Est. avg teacher salary

Below benchmark

$12,044
Per-pupil spending
562
Students enrolled
24th
Pct. in MT
$50,579

Shepherd Elem is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable Montana districts (562 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $50,579, below the national average of $70,245, serving 562 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Smaller enrollment scale: Shepherd Elem is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable Montana districts (562 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
  • 24th percentile for Montana
  • 16th percentile nationally
  • 34% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Montana ranks #36 of 49 on the salary estimate and #43 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Shepherd Elem ranks #107 of 140 Montana districts by estimated teacher salary and #116 of 140 by per-pupil spending. Helena H S pay #1 at $104,507 is not Lolo Elem spending #1 at $49,777 per pupil
  • -2.1% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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Instructional payroll mix vs Montana median

Among 317 Montana districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Shepherd Elem's instructional payroll puts 8.8% into special education , 2.1 points above the state median of 6.7%. That heavier special-education share usually means more of the teacher-salary pool is tied to IEP-driven staffing than at a typical Montana peer.

Program Shepherd Elem MT median Gap
Regular program 90.0% 90.0% -0.0 pp
Special education 8.8% 6.7% +2.1 pp
Vocational programs 1.2% 0.0% +1.2 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 317 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 3023940 · FY2023.

LEAID 3023940 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Shepherd Elem F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-LOW -14% vs state RANK-ST-LOW P24 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P16 national PPE-LOW $12K/pupil ENR-SMALL 562 students INSTR-LOW 34% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Ennis FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $50,579 estimated average teacher salary · P24 in Montana · P16 nationally · 34% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Frenchtown (+$536est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Shepherd Elem

Salary neighbourhood · Shepherd Elem

Shepherd Elem trails most of its in-state peer set; the chart plots it against the top and bottom pay poles for context (NCES F-33 FY2023, not a full state reprint).

est. salary
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey As of FY2023
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Shepherd Elem

Shepherd Elem's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$50,579 16th percentile higher than 16% of 10,684 US districts

Show national distribution $30,000–$40,000: 155 US districts (1%). Below this entry. $40,000–$50,000: 1,360 US districts (13%). Below this entry. $50,000–$60,000: 2,382 US districts (22%). This entry sits in this band. $60,000–$70,000: 2,402 US districts (22%). Above this entry. $70,000–$80,000: 1,633 US districts (15%). Above this entry. $80,000–$90,000: 1,097 US districts (10%). Above this entry. $90,000–$100,000: 662 US districts (6%). Above this entry. $100,000–$110,000: 371 US districts (3%). Above this entry. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). Above this entry. $120,000–$130,000: 156 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $130,000–$140,000: 112 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $140,000–$150,000: 57 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $150,000–$160,000: 25 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $160,000–$170,000: 13 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $170,000–$180,000: 10 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $180,000–$190,000: 0 US districts (0%). Above this entry. Shepherd Elem $30,000 $190,000 every reliable-salary US district, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $10K-wide band; taller bars hold more US districts. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 · FY2023

Shepherd Elem in Montana's lower-third pay band

Same 140 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Shepherd Elem ranks #107 of 140 Montana districts by estimated teacher salary and #116 of 140 by per-pupil spending. Helena H S pay #1 at $104,507 is not Lolo Elem spending #1 at $49,777 per pupil

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Shepherd Elem is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Lolo Elem leads spending at $49,777 per pupil; Helena H S leads pay.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

What stands out about Shepherd Elem

  • Estimated teacher pay here moved -2.1% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing Montana's statewide +12.5% by 14.6 points, a growth rate faster than 26% of the 277 Montana districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$50,578.512

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Montana price level
91.0 / 100

BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.

National-price equivalent
$55,572

+10% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Montana run below the national average, so this salary has roughly the buying power of the national-price equivalent above. A district in a costlier state can advertise a larger nominal salary and still leave a teacher with less.

Regional price parity: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2023 all-items RPP by state. The adjustment applies a statewide index to a district figure, so it captures how Montana compares nationally, not how this district compares with others in its own state. Compare every state on this basis.

How this salary figure is calculated
Full NCES reading for Shepherd Elem

What the Numbers Say About Shepherd Elem

Shepherd Elem is a small school district in Montana, serving 562 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $12,044. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $50,579, placing the district in the lower-spending tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 3023940 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Montana statewide average of $59,058, teacher pay in Shepherd Elem runs materially below the state benchmark, a 14.4% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (28.0% differential). Among enrolling districts in Montana, it pays more than 24% of them. Montana itself ranks #36 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Shepherd Elem reports $6.8M in total expenditure against $6.9M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 34% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $1.7M, special-education teacher pay is $0.2M.

How does Shepherd Elem compare?

Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the Montana average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.

Shepherd Elem $50,579
Billings Elem $74,295
Montana avg $59,058
National avg $70,245

Shepherd Elem pays -31.9% less than Billings Elem · per-pupil $12,044 vs $12,841

Derived from NCES F-33 teacher salary expenditure (Z35-Z38) and CCD Staff Universe teacher FTE (FY2023); a small minority use the documented fallback. Unreliable service entities are excluded.

Data-derived comparison paths

Find comparable Montana districts

On pay, Shepherd Elem sits closest to Ennis K-12 Schools; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Sidney Elem. These are not simply nearby districts: each group is selected from the same NCES FY2023 dataset using a matching salary or per-pupil-investment signal and a comparable enrollment range.

Closest on estimated pay
  1. Ennis K-12 Schools
  2. Darby K-12 Schools
  3. Elder Grove Elem
  4. Shelby Elem
  5. Elysian Elem
  6. Smith Valley Elem
  7. Plains K-12
  8. Frenchtown K-12 Schools
  9. Helena Flats Elem
  10. Glasgow K-12 Schools
  11. Malta K-12 Schools
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Sidney Elem
  2. Cayuse Prairie Elem
  3. Manhattan School
  4. Hellgate Elem
  5. Canyon Creek Elem
  6. Somers Elem
  7. Frenchtown K-12 Schools
  8. Choteau Elem
  9. Dillon Elem
  10. Cascade Elem
  11. Joliet Elem

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Shepherd Elem's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Shepherd Elem: closest on enrollment (562 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($50,579 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood.

Similar enrollment

Nearest other districts by NCES student count (floored at ≥200).

Similar estimated salary

Nearest other districts by F-33-derived average teacher salary, distinct from the enrollment row.

Enrollment and salaries from NCES CCD F-33; estimated teacher pay can diverge widely at the same student count because of state funding, cost of living, and local bargaining.

Revenue & Expenditure

$6.9M
Total Revenue
$6.8M
Total Expenditure
$2.3M
Instruction Salaries
34% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$1.7M
Regular Program
$0.2M
Special Education
$0.0M
Vocational

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 3 programs in Shepherd Elem: the regular program, special education and vocational programs. It reports no separate figure for other programs. Together they are 81% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 19% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.

Montana Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized Montana districts belongs to Helena H S at $104,507. Placed 59 of 64, Shepherd Elem is in the lower quarter, where a state-average comparison flatters the district rather than describing it. New Mexico and Missouri are the states closest to Montana on BEA's price parity, which makes them the fair comparison; against a costlier state this salary goes further than its number suggests.

View all Montana districts →

Other Montana Districts

Smaller-district sample from 139 Montana peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Wolf Point Elem
$59,729
511 students
Lolo Elem
$53,377
507 students
Laurel H S
$63,813
619 students
Eureka Elem
$65,154
497 students
Custer County H S
$53,808
495 students
Rocky Boy Elem
$75,498
486 students

This is a sample of 6 from 139 Montana districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

Frequently Asked Questions about Shepherd Elem
What is the average teacher salary in Shepherd Elem?

The average teacher salary in Shepherd Elem is $50,579 (NCES CCD FY2023), from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by the district's reported teacher headcount (NCES CCD Staff Universe Survey).

How does Shepherd Elem teacher pay compare to the Montana average?

Shepherd Elem pays 14.4% less than the Montana state average of $59,058. The district's average is $50,579.

How does Shepherd Elem teacher pay compare to the national average?

Shepherd Elem pays 28.0% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $50,579.

What is the per-pupil spending in Shepherd Elem?

Shepherd Elem spends approximately $12,044 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Shepherd Elem's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 34% of Shepherd Elem's total expenditure of $6.8M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Shepherd Elem
Disclaimer & data sources

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher

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Editorial standards & source notes

According to the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, PlainTeacher's figures are computed directly, no number is typed in by an editor. Shepherd Elem's salary and finance figures are computed directly from its FY2023 F-33 submission, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of FY2023.