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East Helena, Montana - 5 schools
An equity score of 21/100 ranks East Helena K-12 #120 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,320 per pupil, East Helena K-12 ranks #367 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,952
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$10,320
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
East Helena K-12 operates 5 public schools serving 1,952 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Lewis and Clark County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,320 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 40 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Montana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 38.9% local, 43.8% state, and 17.3% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 21/100, ranked #120 of 141 in Montana against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (2 AP courses district-wide), a 365.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 36.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 83.7% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is East Valley Middle School, with a diversity index of 31.5/100.
Its largest campus is East Helena High School, enrolling 563 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Eastgate School, at 161 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
East Helena High School accounts for 28.8% of all East Helena K-12 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means East Helena K-12-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
East Helena K-12 school enrollment varies 3.5× across entities
East Helena K-12 school enrollment ranges from 161 students (lowest) to 563 students (highest), a spread of 402 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
East Helena K-12 student-counselor ratio is 365:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
East Helena K-12 chronic absenteeism rate is 36.5% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
East Helena K-12 has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 2 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 1,952 students.
How much does East Helena K-12 spend per student?
East Helena K-12 spends $10,320 per student. The district has an equity score of 21/100, ranking #120 in Montana.
What is the demographic composition of East Helena K-12?
East Helena K-12 students are 83.7% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for East Helena K-12?
East Helena K-12 has an equity score of 21/100, ranking #120 out of 141 districts in Montana.