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St Helens, Oregon - 8 schools
An equity score of 29/100 ranks St Helens Sd 502 #135 of 160 districts in Oregon (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,483 per pupil, St Helens Sd 502 ranks #160 of 194 Oregon districts by per-pupil spending (Oregon districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,829
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$13,483
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
St Helens Sd 502 operates 8 public schools serving 2,829 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Oregon. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 high, 1 middle, 1 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 Columbia County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,483 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 194 Oregon districts by per-pupil spending. See how Oregon compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.0% local, 54.6% state, and 15.3% 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 29/100, ranked #135 of 160 in Oregon 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 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (4 AP courses district-wide), a 306.8:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 41.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 76.1% White, 13.0% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Plymouth High School, with a diversity index of 51.1/100.
Its largest campus is St Helens High School, enrolling 823 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Plymouth High School, at 65 students, a 13x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
St Helens High School accounts for 28.8% of all St Helens Sd 502 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means St Helens Sd 502-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.
St Helens Sd 502 school enrollment varies 13× across entities
St Helens Sd 502 school enrollment ranges from 65 students (lowest) to 823 students (highest), a spread of 758 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
St Helens Sd 502 student-counselor ratio is 307:1 — 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 St Helens Sd 502 is typically wider than the St Helens Sd 502-aggregate figure suggests.
St Helens Sd 502 chronic absenteeism rate is 41.8% — 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.