District profile / Pennsylvania

Highlands School District

Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania · Superintendent: Monique Mawhinney · #231 of 382 Pennsylvania districts by enrollment

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2,047

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$16,044

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · about the same as the Pennsylvania median

12.6

Students per teacher

2024-25 · Pennsylvania median 13.4

Highlands School District is a public school district based in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, serving 2,047 students in 4 schools. By enrollment it ranks #231 of the 382 Pennsylvania districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 40% of them. Its schools average 512 students each, about the same as the Pennsylvania median of 560. Its superintendent is Monique Mawhinney. It spends about $16,044 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 12.6 students per teacher.

How Highlands compares

HighlandsPennsylvania median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$16,044

Pennsylvania median $15,764 · about the same · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$10,256

Pennsylvania median $10,126 · about the same · FY2020-21

Students per school512

Pennsylvania median 560 · 9% below · 2024-25

Students per teacher12.6

Pennsylvania median 13.4 · 6% below · 2024-25

Students per counselor292

Pennsylvania median 328 · 11% below · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$46.2 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 5%State 50%Local 45%

Measure	Highlands	Pennsylvania median	Year
Current spending per student	$16,044	$15,764	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$10,256	$10,126	FY2020-21
Total spending	$42.6 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$46.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	162	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	287	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	12.6	13.4	2024-25
Students per counselor	292	328	2024-25

Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The Pennsylvania median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.

Leadership

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Monique Mawhinney

Superintendent, Highlands School District

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education, EdNA, checked 2026-10-19. Report a change

In the news

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Peer districts in Pennsylvania

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Tamaqua Area School DistrictTamaqua	2,048	4	$13,111	14.6	#230
Highlands School DistrictNatrona Heights · this district	2,047	4	$16,044	12.6	#231
Hopewell Area School DistrictAliquippa	2,044	5	$17,425	14.5	#232
Northern Lebanon School DistrictFredericksburg	2,031	2	$15,368	14.5	#233
Knoch School DistrictSaxonburg	2,028	4	$14,166	14.5	#234

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Knott CountyHindman, KY	2,049	$13,061	12.7
Brawley Union HighBrawley, CA	2,047	$13,634	22.7
Allegan Public SchoolsAllegan, MI	2,046	$11,795	17.2
Ludington Area School DistrictLudington, MI	2,045	$11,678	16.9

Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.

Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-pa-highlands-school-district