Original Research by School Decision on Hall Elem
Hall Elem is a small Montana school district serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Its single school, Hall School, sits in Granite County, a rural western Montana county of mountains and small communities. The district’s enrollment is tiny, reflecting the sparse population of the area it covers. The student body is predominantly white, with a single student identified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and no other race or ethnicity groups reported in the data. Information on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status was not available for this profile.
State testing results for math and English language arts in the 2024-25 school year were suppressed, a common occurrence when student counts are very small, as they are here. Science testing data from the prior year was simply missing from the record. Because the district does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Parents should know that academic performance measures for this district are essentially unavailable in the public data, a situation that is typical of many very small, rural schools where state disclosure rules protect student privacy.
Chronic absenteeism, reported for the district, stands at a rate that places it below the midpoint among Granite County’s districts. That means more students missed a significant number of school days compared to some neighboring districts, though it was not the highest rate in the county. Per-pupil current spending falls in the lower range when set against other Granite County districts. For context, the district’s county has four districts total, so these comparisons are among a small set of peers.
Housing in the areas served by Hall Elem is notably expensive for a rural Montana location. Home values in the district’s coverage area are well above the national median, driven primarily by the Hall zip code, where values are highest. A smaller portion of the district’s housing stock sits in the Philipsburg and Drummond areas, with values ranging from somewhat above the national norm to slightly below it. The weighted home value for the district overall is high, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment, based on current rates, is substantial relative to typical household income. This suggests that families moving into the district face a significant housing cost burden, which may be a key consideration for parents weighing a relocation.
A recent district brief flags a concrete change for current and prospective residents: Hall Elem posted a Notice of Intent to Increase Levy. This indicates the district plans to raise property taxes, a decision that directly affects homeowners in the district. The notice was posted on the Hall School website. This is the most tangible parent-relevant development found, given the district’s very small size and limited local news coverage.
In essence, Hall Elem is a one-school district in a rural, high-cost housing market. Its academic picture is essentially opaque due to suppressed data, so families will need to rely on direct engagement with the school to understand student learning and support. The district’s small enrollment means a tight-knit, likely personalized environment, but also limited program breadth at the middle school level, and no high school within the district. Chronically absent students appear to be a concern that parents may want to ask the school about. The pending levy increase adds a financial consideration for homeowners. For a family seeking a very small, rural school setting in western Montana, Hall Elem offers that, but with trade-offs in measurable accountability data and housing affordability.
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