Most And Least Equitable MN School Districts: Where SoWashCo Ranks

WOODBURY, MN — A new study finds that the South Washington County Schools District is lacking when it comes to funding equity.

While the average income in the school district is $102,686, per-pupil funding is only $12,360, WalletHub finds.

The Wallethub study ranked 329 school districts in Minnesota based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil. South Washington County schools ranked near the bottom, at No. 315.

Some districts scored well in the study because they had both high income and high per pupil expenditures. However, districts with high expenditures and low income, or low expenditures and high income, scored worse.

Cannon Falls Public School District is the most equitable district, according to the report.

In Cannon Falls, $11,535 — on average — is spent per student. The average household income in the area is $73,539.

Meanwhile, the Goodhue Public School District — where $9,971 is spent per pupil and where the average income is $77,188 — is the least equitable, the study said.

Read more about the study here.

Earlier this month, voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum from South Washington County Schools that asked for $462,660,000 to go to school expansions. Read more about that vote here.