Murtaugh Schools

Murtaugh Schools is a PK-12 school in the rural community of Murtaugh, Idaho, serving 388 students in the Murtaugh Joint District. The school operates essentially as a single-school district, functioning as the district's primary school with grade levels spanning pre-K through 12th grade. Murtaugh Schools serves a relatively high-poverty population: 59.5% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-2025, a rate nearly double that of nearby Xavier Charter School and notably higher than Rise Charter School.

Academically, Murtaugh Schools outperforms the state average in all three tested subjects on the 2025-2026 ISAT assessments—math (51% vs. 43.1%), science (44% vs. 42.7%), and English language arts (60.2% vs. 54%). It also outperforms every nearby school with comparable test data. Xavier Charter School comes closest, but Murtaugh Schools leads by roughly 8 points in math, 7 in science, and 10 in ELA. Valley School, which has a similar poverty rate, trails by about 19 points in math. Murtaugh Schools also posts exceptional graduation rates—100% in both 2023-2024 and 2022-2023—compared to a statewide rate near 80-82%, and chronic absenteeism sits at just 3-5% in recent reporting, far below the state rate of 21%.

What makes these results especially noteworthy is that Murtaugh Schools achieves them while serving a student population with above-average economic disadvantage. The school spends a modest $8,787 per student—less than Valley School's $9,154—and its student-teacher ratio of about 15:1 is less favorable than nearby Rise Charter School's 12.7:1, yet Murtaugh Schools still outperforms both. Areas of relative weakness include 3rd grade math (38.5% vs. 50.9% statewide) and 8th grade science (32.1% vs. 42.9%), but the school's exceptional middle-grade results—such as 7th grade ELA at 75% proficiency—suggest a particularly effective middle-school teaching team. Overall, Murtaugh Schools is a small, stable district school that punches well above its weight academically.