DICKINSON, N.D. – School districts are public entities, and they will only perform as well as the public demands.

If communities handsomely compensate school officials for mediocre academic results, they will continue to get the same type of results.

A good example is the Dickinson school district in southwestern North Dakota.

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Unlike a lot of school districts around the nation, Dickinson seems to be financially stable, largely due to a recent oil boom in the region.

As a credit agency recently noted, the Dickinson district has been experiencing rapid tax base growth, with above average levels of wealth in the community and a healthy fund reserve.

So the people of Dickinson should be able to afford high quality academic instruction for their children.

They certainly pay for it.

The 10 highest paid employees in the Dickinson district are very well paid, indeed. They all bring in at least $100,000 per year, according to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

The list starts with the superintendent, Dr. Doug Sullivan, who made $167,994 during the last fiscal year. The deputy superintendent makes $129,142. All together the 10 highest paid employees made nearly $1.2 million in straight salary last year.

That’s a significant investment in leadership for a small school district with about 2,800 students.

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Five of the principals of the district’s eight schools are in the Top 10, making between $109,354 and $123,573. The other three principals make $100,178, $99,341 and $93,413, respectively.

Collectively the principals – who are most immediately responsible for oversight of student learning – made $838,267 in most recent fiscal year.

So what are the taxpayers of Dickinson getting for this type of investment? It appears to be substandard academics.

EAGnews recently compared 2013-14 state test score results for students in Dickinson and five other North Dakota school districts – Bismarck, Fargo, West Fargo, Minot and Grand Forks.

The percentage of Dickinson students scoring proficient in four academic disciplines – language arts, math, reading and science – was significantly lower than the other four districts in every category.

The ugliest example was in language arts. Only 60.4 percent of Dickinson students were proficient in that area, compared to 73.6 percent in Grand Forks, 71.1 percent in Fargo, 70.4 percent in Bismarck, 70 percent in West Fargo and 69.9 percent in Minot.

Dickinson students also fell woefully short of the statewide proficiency percentage in every category.

In language arts, 60.4 percent of Dickinson students scored proficient, while the state percentage was 69.1 percent. In math 66.7 percent of Dickinson students made the grade, while the state percentage was 74.3 percent.

The same was true in reading (69.1 percent Dickinson, 72.7 percent state) and science (60.8 percent/64 percent).

Interestingly, the Dickinson district had a graduation rate of 91.2 percent, higher than the state percentage and the four other districts.

So the kids graduate in Dickinson, but how much do they learn on their way to their diplomas?

The other four districts also spend considerable amounts in salary for their 10 highest paid employees. In Grand Forks and Fargo their salaries totaled $1.3 million last year, while in Bismarck and West Fargo the amount was $1.2 million.

All five districts we surveyed failed to reach state goals for adequate yearly progress in academics, according to the DPI.

The moral of the story? Watch your schools closely, because you don’t always get what you pay for.