The Custer School District includes the Custer High School, Custer Middle School, and Custer Elementary School as well as 3 rural elementary schools: Hermosa, Fairburn, and Spring Creek. To find out more about the Custer School District click here. To receive regular updates on the latest school events including game schedule changes, contact Jennie.Anderson@k12.sd.us to sign up for the CSD Tidbits e-mail newsletter 

Students in the Custer School District take the annual Dakota STEP test to ensure that the district is making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading and math. According the State of South Dakota's report card, Custer students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011, except for middle school students with disabilities. Custer's high school graduation rate 88.4 percent in 2012, slightly higher than the 86.49 percent rate posted in 2011 and above the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, the Custer School District's fall enrollment was 873 in grades K-12. With a 0.3 percent dropout rate, the district graduated 59 students. Thirty-five students took the ACT exam. The average composite score was 20.7. To compare Custer School District ACT scores with other Black Hills districts, click here. To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of Custer School District.

Adult education courses such as GED Preparation and Testing and Adult Basic Education are offered at the Career Learning Center based out of the Custer Administrative Office at 527 Montgomery Street.  For more information on services offered by the Career Learning Center, click here.

Custer County School District Budgets

Declining enrollment, decreasing state aid and less impact aid are taking a toll on the Custer school district. To balance the budget for the 2011-2012 school year, the district needed to shave over $900,000 from the previous year’s budget, which resulted in staff and program cuts. However, due to the tax structure, the capital outlay fund remains strong, enabling the school district to build a new elementary school which opened in the fall of 2011.

Although the school’s budget is not available online, posted minutes from a special meeting in May 2011 indicate general fund revenue and expenditures for 2011-2012 to be $6,098,479; capital outlay revenue and expenditure to be $2,468,863, special education to be $41,500,301, and impact aid to be $650,000. News articles related to the school’s budget, monthly school board meetings, school activities and other school-related issues can be found at the website of the Custer County Chronicle at www.custercountynews.com.