Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
La Mesa, California - 1 schools
An equity score of 22/100 ranks Helix High District #1404 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,707 per pupil, Helix High District ranks #1469 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,502
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$12,707
Per-Pupil Spending
High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Helix High District operates 1 public schools serving 2,502 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high 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 San Diego County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,707 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 45.7% local, 44.8% state, and 9.5% 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 22/100, ranked #1404 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 1 schools offering Advanced Placement (10 AP courses district-wide), a 425.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 1.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 47.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% White, 10.6% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Helix High, enrolling 2,554 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Helix High accounts for 100.0% of all Helix High District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Helix High District a distant remainder — means Helix High District-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.
Helix High District student-counselor ratio is 426:1 — 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.
Helix High District chronic absenteeism rate is 1.1% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Helix High District has 1 school, including 1 high. Total enrollment is 2,502 students.
How much does Helix High District spend per student?
Helix High District spends $12,707 per student. The district has an equity score of 22/100, ranking #1404 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Helix High District?
Helix High District students are 47.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% White, 10.6% African American, 6.5% Asian, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Helix High District?
Helix High District has an equity score of 22/100, ranking #1404 out of 1517 districts in California.