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Burien, Washington - 36 schools
An equity score of 53/100 ranks Highline School District #102 of 238 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,077 per pupil, Highline School District ranks #94 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
18,048
Total Enrollment
36
Schools
$19,077
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Highline School District operates 36 public schools serving 18,048 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Washington. The school portfolio breaks down into 22 combined, 9 high, 5 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in King County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,077 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 29.7% local, 55.7% state, and 14.6% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 53/100, ranked #102 of 238 in Washington against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 5 of 36 schools offering Advanced Placement (29 AP courses district-wide), a 353.6:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 14.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 38.8% Hispanic or Latino, 22.0% White, 13.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Parkside Elementary, with a diversity index of 80.3/100.
Its largest campus is Mount Rainier High School, enrolling 1,846 students (10% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Puget Sound Skills Center, at 3 students, a 615x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Highline School District school enrollment varies 615× across entities
Highline School District school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 1,846 students (highest), a spread of 1,843 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Highline School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 57.6% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Highline School District student-counselor ratio is 354:1 — 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.
Highline School District chronic absenteeism rate is 14.4% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Highline School District has 36 schools, including 9 high, 5 middle, 22 combined. Total enrollment is 18,048 students.
How much does Highline School District spend per student?
Highline School District spends $19,077 per student. The district has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #102 in Washington.
What is the demographic composition of Highline School District?
Highline School District students are 38.8% Hispanic or Latino, 22.0% White, 13.8% African American, 12.9% Asian, averaged across 36 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Highline School District?
Highline School District has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #102 out of 238 districts in Washington.