How few students can a South Dakota one-teacher rural school have on its rolls before the district running it gets cut off from state foundation funding?
Plain-English summary
In the early 1970s, South Dakota was still wrestling with how to allocate state foundation funding to rural school districts that operated tiny one-teacher schoolhouses near larger elementary schools. The statutory rule disqualified a district from 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 any other public elementary school in operation during the previous school fiscal year."
The question reached the AG: what is the lowest enrollment a district could have at such a school without losing the funding? AG Gordon Mydland walked through the definitions. The South Dakota Department of Public Instruction defined "average daily membership" as the sum of daily memberships divided by school days in the term. "Enrollment" was the total original entries. The two were not the same number. A school could have six students on its enrollment but, because of absences, an average daily membership below six. Five students enrolled could not reach a daily-membership average above five; the math caps at five only if every single student is present every single day, which never happens.
The conclusion: six was the floor. With six on the rolls and ordinary attendance patterns, the average daily membership would likely come in above five, preserving foundation eligibility.
The opinion read more like a math problem than a policy debate. The statute had set the ceiling at five; the AG explained the practical implication.
Currency note
This opinion was issued during AG Gordon Mydland's tenure in the early 1970s. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The general-support foundation funding statutes have been amended many times since the 1970s, and the rural one-teacher school provisions have largely been displaced by consolidation. Modern South Dakota school finance questions should be analyzed under the current statutes in SDCL Title 13.
What the opinion meant at the time
For rural school districts trying to keep a small schoolhouse open, the opinion explained the funding math. A school running with three or four enrolled was clearly disqualifying. Five enrolled was effectively disqualifying too, because the average daily membership could not exceed five. Six was the practical minimum.
For the State Department of Public Instruction, the opinion was useful as guidance on the audit standard. Districts claiming foundation funds for one-teacher schools near larger elementaries had to show an enrollment that would plausibly yield an average daily membership above five.
For school boards, the opinion underscored how easily a district could fall out of foundation funding for these tiny operations. Even six students was thin, because illness or absence would pull the average down.
Common questions
Q: What was the policy rationale for the five-student rule?
A: Foundation funding rewarded consolidation. A one-teacher school very close to a larger elementary was generally seen as inefficient: the state would not subsidize a redundant facility once enrollment fell below a threshold. The five-and-under cutoff pushed districts toward consolidation in those circumstances.
Q: Did the rule apply to remote one-teacher schools far from other elementaries?
A: No. The five-mile-by-road clause was the trigger. A one-teacher school more than five miles from any other public elementary was not subject to this particular disqualification, although other rules might still apply.
Q: Was the rule the same for high schools?
A: This opinion addressed only elementary one-teacher schools and the general-support foundation funds. Different rules governed high school operation and funding.
Q: Did the AG address the discretion of the district to keep operating the school anyway?
A: SDCL 13-13-15 (referenced in the opinion) constrained a district's discretion to close an elementary school operating as of December 5, 1968. The district could only stop operating such a school after a resident-voter election in the affected area. The AG noted, however, that this preservation clause did not apply where continued operation would disqualify the district from foundation funding.
Q: Could a one-teacher rural school still qualify if its ADM was exactly five?
A: The statute said "five or less" disqualified. So ADM of exactly five also disqualified. The AG's math showed five enrolled could not exceed five ADM; only six or more enrolled gave realistic hope of exceeding five ADM.
Background and statutory framework
South Dakota school finance underwent significant restructuring in 1968 with the elimination of common school districts and consolidation into independent districts. SDCL 13-13-15 preserved a transitional right for residents of pre-1968 elementary school areas to keep their schools open until a local vote chose otherwise, with the major caveat about foundation funding being preserved.
The general-support foundation aid statutes (SDCL 13-13-10 to 13-13-41) defined the funding pool. The five-student disqualification was one of several quality-of-operation conditions: the policy choice was to reward districts that consolidated and operated efficient elementaries rather than dragging on with very small rural schoolhouses near larger ones.
The Department of Public Instruction's Bulletin 10-4(1970) standardized definitions, which the AG relied upon. "Average daily membership" was the operative metric, drawing the line at five.
By the late 20th century, most South Dakota one-teacher rural schools had closed through consolidation, and the rule lost most of its practical bite. But during the transition years it shaped real district-level decisions.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- SDCL 13-13-15 (continued operation of pre-1968 elementaries)
- SDCL 13-23-1 (school board authority to establish/discontinue schools)
- SDCL 13-13-10 to 13-13-41 (general support foundation funding)
Department guidance:
- South Dakota Dictionary of Educational Terms for Elementary and Secondary Education, Bulletin 10-4(1970)
Source
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