District Spotlight
Colstrip Lost One in Five Students as Its Power Plant Shrank
Colstrip's combined school enrollment fell 19.8% since 2018, tracking the closure of two coal-fired generating units and the uncertain future of two more.
Montana
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Montana, grounded in Montana Department of Education data.
East Helena Grew 54% in Seven Years
East Helena K-12 added 681 students since 2019, growing 54% as housing on a former Superfund site draws families priced out of Helena.
Helena HS Lost More Students Than Any Montana High School
Helena's high school district shed 451 students since 2018 while East Helena, five miles away, surged 54%. The capital city's suburban donut is reshaping school funding.
Montana Now Serves 4,720 Students Who Are English Learners, Half Speaking Native American Languages
Enrollment of students who are English learners grew 51.6% in eight years even as Montana lost students overall, with nearly half speaking Native American languages.
In the Flathead Valley, High Schools Surge While Elementary Rolls Shrink
Whitefish High School added 175 students since 2018, a 36% surge, while every elementary district in the Flathead Valley lost enrollment over the same period.
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District Spotlight
Livingston Lost 28% of Its Students. The Town Has Never Been More Popular.
Livingston Elem enrollment fell from 1,000 to 716 since 2018, the third-fastest decline among Montana districts with 200+ students, even as Park County's tourism economy booms.
Demographics
Hispanic Students Are Montana's Only Growing Demographic
Hispanic enrollment rose 44.8% since 2018 while every other racial group declined. Growth spans the state but may be slowing.
District Spotlight
Bozeman HS Grew 32% While Montana Shrank
Bozeman's high school district has added 687 students over eight consecutive years of growth, the longest streak in Montana, even as every other major city's elementary enrollment hits record lows.
Enrollment
116 Montana Districts Hit Record-Low Enrollment
Nearly one in three Montana districts are at their lowest enrollment ever recorded, including every major city's elementary system.
Equity
Montana's Native American Students Are Disappearing at Twice the Rate of White Peers
Native American enrollment fell 12.3% since 2018, nearly double the 6.4% white decline. Reservation districts lost 1,391 students across seven tribal nations.
Enrollment
Montana Lost 8,500 Students in Three Years
After a decade of growth, Montana's public school enrollment has fallen for three straight years to a 9-year low, erasing the gains of the growth era and costing districts millions.
Enrollment
Montana Publishes 2025-26 Enrollment Data
OPI releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing 142,071 students statewide — down 8,502 from peak, the lowest in nine years of records.