Helena Elementary
Public school district · Lewis and Clark County · Montana · NCES district ID 3000005
Helena Elementary spent $13,752 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, more than 86% of the other Montana districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 (median $12,120). Its 13 schools enrolled 4,880 students in 2024-25; 39.1% of its revenue came from the state. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $13,260 per student, down 3.6% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).
NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 · Census Bureau school finances 2023-24 · NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · method
Spending per student among Montana's largest districts
Current spending per student excludes construction and debt. Among the 10 districts shown, Helena Elementary ranks 1.
Where the money came from
$78,199,000 in revenue: 39.1% state, 46.1% local and 14.7% federal. Total spending including $1,429,000 of capital outlay was $76,087,000, or $14,562 per student; the figure above leaves capital out.
- State$30,613,000 39%
- Local$36,073,000 46%
- Federal$11,513,000 15%
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures for elementary and secondary education divided by fall membership; the state median covers 30 districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022. Revenue by source (TOTALREV, TFEDREV, TSTREV, TLOCREV).
Enrollment fell from 2022-23 to 2024-25
5,225 students in 2022-23, 5,173 students in 2023-24, 4,880 students in 2024-25, counted across the schools that reported each year.
Teachers and students per teacher
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 5,225 | 339.0 | 15.4 |
| 2023-24 | 5,173 | 319.7 | 16.2 |
| 2024-25 | 4,880 | 306.9 | 15.9 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; sums over the schools reporting each year.
$28,597,000 in teacher salaries in fiscal year 2022-23, $5,473 per student
Helena Elementary booked $28,597,000 of teacher salaries in its 2022-23 finance report and counted 339 full-time teachers in its Common Core of Data district staff file for 2022-23 (the school files behind the staffing figures on this page count teachers separately, so the two can differ), or $84,367 of salary spending per teacher. That is more than 98 in 100 Montana districts with a figure (state median $53,321, 282 districts). It is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, so the result can differ widely from the average salary the district publishes (its salary schedule gives pay); benefits are left out, and states book salaries differently, so compare districts within one state. For pay, the National Education Association put the average Montana teacher salary at $53,628 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).
| Program | Teacher salaries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Regular programs | $25,729,000 | 90.0% |
| Special education | $2,809,000 | 9.8% |
| Other programs | $59,000 | 0.2% |
Teacher salaries per student, fiscal years 2018-19 to 2022-23
The district's teacher salary bill divided by its fall enrollment each year: $4,547 in 2018-19, $4,576 in 2019-20, $4,808 in 2020-21, $5,415 in 2021-22, $5,473 in 2022-23.
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal years 2019 to 2023: teacher salaries in regular, special, vocational and other programs (Z35 to Z38) and fall membership (V33); NCES Common Core of Data LEA staff file 2022-23, teachers (full-time equivalent).
State test results, 2021-22
In 2021-22, the students tested in Helena Elementary scored proficient or above: 52% in reading and 38% in math, against 45.7% in reading and 35.2% in math across Montana. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within Montana, not across states.
| Subject | This district | Montana | Students tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts | 52% | 45.7% | 3,324 |
| Math | 38% | 35.2% | 3,316 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (the Data Rescue Project archive; ED has no 2022-23 result for this district): ED shows district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
11 elementary schools, 3,217 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Georgians School | 482 | 16.9 | 26.6% | Not Title I |
| Jim Darcy School | 473 | 18.8 | 16.1% | Not Title I |
| Rossiter School | 369 | 17.4 | 28.2% | Schoolwide program |
| Bryant School | 288 | 14.1 | 81.3% | Schoolwide program |
| Warren School | 276 | 15.5 | 55.4% | Schoolwide program |
| Jefferson School | 245 | 19.2 | 14.3% | Not Title I |
| Central School | 242 | 13.9 | 56.6% | Schoolwide program |
| Kessler Elementary School | 235 | 13.2 | 28.9% | Not Title I |
| Smith School | 217 | 13.5 | 30.4% | Schoolwide program |
| Broadwater School | 207 | 12.5 | 68.1% | Schoolwide program |
| Hawthorne School | 183 | 13.8 | 16.9% | Not Title I |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
2 middle schools, 1,663 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C R Anderson Middle Schl | 962 | 16.4 | 27.0% | Not Title I |
| Helena Middle School | 701 | 17.1 | 36.4% | Schoolwide program |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
Contact Helena Elementary
- Website: helenaschools.org
- Phone: (406) 324-2001
- Office: 1325 Poplar Street, Helena, MT 59601
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, local education agency directory 2024-25. Enrollment, boundaries and school assignment are the district's to confirm.
What to look at next about Helena Elementary
- Montana districts by spending per studentHelena Elementary ranks 5 of 30 Montana districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 on current spending per student in fiscal year 2022-23 ($13,752).#5 of 30
- Every school district in MontanaHelena Elementary is the number 5 by size of 398 Montana districts, with 5,225 students in fall 2022 (F-33).#5 of 398
- Missoula ElementaryThe next larger Montana district: 5,280 students in fall 2022, $13,401 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$13,401
- Bozeman ElementaryThe next smaller Montana district: 4,651 students in fall 2022, $10,840 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$10,840
- Compare Helena Elementary with Missoula ElementaryEnrollment, spending, revenue sources and schools, side by side.
- Teacher salary spending across MontanaHelena Elementary spent $84,367 in salaries per full-time teacher in fiscal year 2022-23 (state median $53,321); spending, not a salary.$84,367
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student and fall 2022 membership; ranks among the state's districts that reported them); NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools).
Questions about Helena Elementary
How many schools and students are in Helena Elementary?
13 schools were open in 2024-25 (11 elementary, 2 middle), enrolling 4,880 students, according to the NCES Common Core of Data.How much does Helena Elementary spend per student?
$13,752 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), which leaves out construction and debt; the Montana median for districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 is $12,120 and the U.S. figure is $16,260. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $13,260 per student, down 3.6% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).Where does Helena Elementary's money come from?
$78,199,000 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23: 39.1% state, 46.1% local and 14.7% federal (NCES F-33).How many children in Helena Elementary live in poverty?
The Census Bureau estimates that 520 of the 6,408 children aged 5 to 17 living within the district's boundaries in 2024, 8.1%, were in families in poverty (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It is a model-based estimate for everyone living in the district, not a count of its students; the free-meal shares in the school tables are counts of enrolled students.How much does Helena Elementary spend on teacher salaries?
$28,597,000 in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), or $5,473 per student. Divided by the 339 full-time teachers in the NCES Common Core of Data for 2022-23 that is $84,367 per teacher, more than 98 in 100 Montana districts (state median $53,321). That is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, and the result can differ widely from the average salary a district publishes. The district's salary schedule gives pay. For pay, the National Education Association put the average Montana teacher salary at $53,628 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).How do students in Helena Elementary do on state tests?
In 2021-22, the students tested in Helena Elementary scored proficient or above: 52% in reading and 38% in math, against 45.7% in reading and 35.2% in math across Montana. Montana's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22.What is Helena Elementary's NCES district ID?
3000005. Each of its schools' 12-digit NCES IDs begins with these seven digits.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 211.60 (2021-22): the state's average teacher salary, from the National Education Association. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024: children aged 5 to 17 and those in families in poverty, by school district. census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2023-24: per pupil current spending for 2023-24 and 2022-23. census.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances Per pupil current spending by school system · FY 2023-24
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Revenue and expenditures by district · FY 2022-23
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25