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Missoula, Montana - 4 schools
An equity score of 21/100 ranks Hellgate Elem #121 of 141 districts in Montana (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,930 per pupil, Hellgate Elem ranks #322 of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending (Montana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,498
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$11,930
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Hellgate Elem operates 4 public schools serving 1,498 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Montana. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 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 Missoula County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,930 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 394 Montana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Montana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 45.3% local, 40.2% state, and 14.5% 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 21/100, ranked #121 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.
a 340.1:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 31.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 78.2% White, 7.2% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Hellgate El Primary Grades, with a diversity index of 43.2/100.
Its largest campus is Hellgate El Intermediate, enrolling 517 students (35% of the district's total enrollment).
Hellgate El Intermediate accounts for 34.5% of all Hellgate Elem student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Hellgate Elem-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Hellgate Elem student-counselor ratio is 340:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Hellgate Elem is typically wider than the Hellgate Elem-aggregate figure suggests.
Hellgate Elem chronic absenteeism rate is 31.8% — 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.