South Dakota's school funding law made an independent school district ineligible for general support foundation funds if it operated a one-teacher rural school with an average daily membership (ADM) of five or fewer pupils, when there was another elementary school within five miles. What is the minimum enrollment a one-teacher rural school could have without putting the district's foundation funding at risk?

Plain-English summary

The State Superintendent asked how many students a one-teacher rural school needed to enroll before it placed its district in jeopardy of losing general support foundation funds. SDCL 13-13-15 required continued operation of certain elementary schools that had operated on December 5, 1968, but excepted a school whose continued operation would make the district ineligible for state aid.

The cited aid rule made a district ineligible for general support foundation funds if it operated a one-teacher rural school "with an average daily membership of five or less pupils" within five miles by publicly traveled roads of another public elementary school that operated during the previous school fiscal year. The opinion did not identify the section number for that quoted aid rule.

Dr. Diedtrich, the State Superintendent, asked the AG: what was the least number of students a one-teacher rural school could have enrolled before it put the district's foundation funding at risk?

The AG's answer turned on the difference between "enrollment" and "average daily membership" (ADM). The South Dakota Department of Public Instruction's Dictionary of Educational Terms defined ADM as the sum of the aggregate days of membership across all terms, divided by the number of days in the regular school term. Enrollment, in contrast, was the total number of original entries in the school.

If a one-teacher school enrolled exactly five students, the AG said all five would have to be members every school day for ADM to reach five. An ADM of five was still within the disqualifying "five or less" category, if the distance and neighboring-school conditions were also met. The opinion did not equate membership with daily attendance.

The AG concluded that the least enrollment before the school would place the district in jeopardy of not receiving foundation funds was six. Because the rule used ADM, six enrolled students alone did not establish that the average exceeded five.

For a board applying this opinion, enrollment and ADM were distinct figures. The aid rule also depended on the school being within the stated five-mile distance of another qualifying elementary school.

Currency note

This opinion applied South Dakota school funding provisions in 1971. Check current statutes and education agency rules before using its enrollment and aid guidance today.

What the opinion meant at the time

For superintendents and boards, the AG identified six as the least enrollment in response to the question. Aid eligibility still depended on ADM and the distance and neighboring-school conditions in the quoted rule.

For the State Superintendent, the opinion explained why five enrolled students could not produce an ADM above five and why the AG answered six.

For parents, the opinion concerned district aid eligibility under a specified one-teacher-school rule. It did not decide whether a particular school would close.

For funding decisions, the quoted rule used average daily membership of five or less, rather than simply a count of enrolled children.

Common questions

Q: What if a student transferred mid-year, was the school's ADM measured from the transfer date or from the start of the year?
A: The quoted definition divided aggregate days of membership by days in the regular school term. The opinion did not apply that formula to a midyear transfer.

Q: What counted as "publicly traveled" roads for the five-mile distance test?
A: The statute used "publicly traveled roads" for the five-mile distance test. The opinion did not parse the term further or address which specific roads counted.

Q: What if the nearest elementary school was just barely over five miles by road?
A: The quoted aid rule concerned a one-teacher rural school within five miles by publicly traveled roads of another qualifying elementary school. The opinion did not analyze a particular route or school just beyond that distance.

Q: What about a school with only one teacher but more than one classroom or grade?
A: The opinion did not define "one-teacher rural school" or address how multiple classrooms or grades would affect that description.

Q: Could a school avoid the trigger by adding a second teacher for part of the year?
A: The threshold applied to a "one-teacher rural school." The opinion did not address borderline staffing patterns, such as a school that added a second teacher for part of the year, so how such a school would be classified is not resolved by this opinion.

Q: What if a school had six enrolled students at the start of the year but lost one to a family move mid-year?
A: The opinion did not calculate this scenario. Six was the least enrollment the AG identified, while the aid rule itself measured average daily membership, not initial enrollment alone.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted a general support foundation funds rule for one-teacher rural schools and the text of SDCL 13-13-15 on continued operation of certain elementary schools. The former rule used ADM; the latter excepted schools whose operation would make the district ineligible for aid.

The quoted aid rule addressed eligibility of the district, rather than a separate payment to the one-teacher school.

SDCL 13-23-1 gave independent school district boards the exclusive power to establish and discontinue elementary schools, "except as limited by law." SDCL 13-13-15 limited that power: boards could not close an elementary school in operation as of December 5, 1968 without local voter approval, unless continued operation jeopardized state aid.

The AG used the Department of Public Instruction's definitions of enrollment and ADM to answer the minimum-enrollment question.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• SDCL 13-13-15 (continued operation of elementary schools; state aid override)
• sections 13-13-10 to 13-13-41 (general support foundation aid)
• SDCL 13-23-1 (school board power to establish and discontinue schools)

Department references:

• South Dakota Dictionary of Educational Terms for Elementary and Secondary Education (Bulletin 10-4-(1970)), South Dakota Department of Public Instruction (definitions of "Average Daily Membership" and "Enrollment")

Source

• Landing page: https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/OfficialOpinions/opinionhtml.aspx?id=400

Original opinion text

Minimum number of students enrolled in an elementary school which would prevent the school district from receiving general support foundation funds.

Dear Dr. Diedtrich:

You have cited the following statutes:

In order to be eligible to receive general support foundation funds as herein provided, a school district must not have operated a one-teacher rural school with an average daily membership of five or less pupils within five miles by publicly traveled roads of any other public elementary school in operation during the previous school fiscal year. (Emphasis supplied)

SDCL 13-13-15 reads as follows:

The school board of an independent school district shall continue to operate any elementary school in operation as of December 5, 1968 until such time as only the resident voters of the area which operated said elementary school shall vote to cease operating said school or schools. Such election shall be called by the school board of the independent school district by resolution or upon a petition by twenty per cent of the electors residing in such area and shall be conducted in accordance with the laws governing elections in independent school district, provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any elementary school which by its continued operation would make the district ineligible for state aid under the provisions of sections 13-13-10 to 13-13-41, inclusive.

SDCL 13-23-1 reads as follows:

The school board of an independent school district shall have the power to establish and discontinue high schools and the exclusive power to establish and discontinue elementary schools except as limited by law.

You have requested an official opinion on the following question:

What is the least number of students a one-teacher rural school may have enrolled before such a school would place the school district in jeopardy of not receiving general support foundation funds?

The South Dakota Dictionary of Educational Terms for Elementary and Secondary Education issued by the South Dakota Department of Public Instruction as Bulletin 10-4-(1970) defines "Average Daily Membership" as follows:

In a given school fiscal year, the average daily membership is the sum of the aggregate days of membership for the regular and all special terms divided by the number of days in the regular school term.

The term "Enrollment" is defined in part as follows:

The total number of original entries in a given school unit ...

It is my opinion that if a one-teacher rural school has an enrollment of only five students, then all five students would have to be a member every day the school was in session in order to have an average daily membership of five. Such a one-teacher rural school would cause the district to be ineligible for general support foundation funds, if such school was within five miles of publicly traveled roads of any other elementary school in operation during the previous school fiscal year.

In answer to your specific question, it is my opinion that the least number of students a one-teacher rural school may have enrolled before such school would place the school district in jeopardy of not receiving general support foundation funds is six.

Respectfully submitted,

Gordon Mydland
Attorney General