Public schools in Santa Maria, CA
Santa Maria has 36 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 4 high, 6 middle, 24 elementary, 2 other, enrolling 31,170 students. They are run by 6 districts and agencies; Santa Maria-Bonita School District runs 21 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 6 districts and agencies that run Santa Maria's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Santa Maria | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria-Bonita School District | 21 | 16,703 | $16,207 |
| Orcutt Union Elementary | 8 | 4,717 | $14,143 |
| Santa Maria Joint Union High | 4 | 9,251 | $17,168 |
| Family Partnership Charter District | 1 | 368 | $13,728 |
| Trivium Charter District | 1 | 321 | $12,629 |
| Blochman Union Elementary | 1 | 189 | $17,037 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
4 high schools in Santa Maria, 8,930 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria High | 3,143 | 21.9 | 74.2% | Santa Maria Joint Union High |
| Pioneer Valley High | 3,080 | 22.1 | 68.8% | Santa Maria Joint Union High |
| Ernest Righetti High | 2,416 | 21.0 | 50.1% | Santa Maria Joint Union High |
| Delta High | 291 | 20.8 | 77.3% | Santa Maria Joint Union High |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
6 middle schools in Santa Maria, 4,311 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fesler (Isaac) Junior High | 974 | 20.1 | 88.6% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Kunst (Tommie) Junior High | 912 | 18.1 | 76.3% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| El Camino Junior High | 830 | 18.3 | 92.8% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Arellanes Junior High | 668 | 18.2 | 85.5% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Orcutt Junior High | 464 | 22.5 | 44.2% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
| Lakeview Junior High | 463 | 23.6 | 56.2% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
24 elementary schools in Santa Maria, 17,236 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary | 1,177 | 25.1 | 68.5% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Bruce (Robert) Elementary | 1,050 | 22.4 | 91.9% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Alvin Elementary | 998 | 24.3 | 92.6% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary | 917 | 21.7 | 73.8% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Rice (William) Elementary | 887 | 22.0 | 85.6% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Miller (Isaac) Elementary | 883 | 21.9 | 87.1% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Adam (William Laird) Elementary | 874 | 24.6 | 92.4% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary | 869 | 24.8 | 80.6% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Liberty Elementary | 865 | 21.0 | 84.5% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Oakley (Calvin C.) Elementary | 849 | 21.0 | 88.8% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
The other 14 elementary schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor (Ida Redmond) Elementary | 849 | 19.1 | 73.1% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Bill Libbon Elementary | 834 | 23.5 | 80.9% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Battles (Washington) Elementary | 769 | 20.8 | 88.7% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Fairlawn Elementary | 716 | 20.9 | 93.3% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Joe Nightingale Elementary | 695 | 26.7 | 53.4% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
| Patterson Road Elementary | 662 | 26.7 | 47.1% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
| Sanchez (David J.) Elementary | 654 | 20.8 | 92.0% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Pine Grove Elementary | 569 | 25.9 | 43.6% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
| Bonita Elementary | 535 | 18.1 | 92.9% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Alice Shaw Elementary | 530 | 24.7 | 61.3% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
| Ralph Dunlap Elementary | 502 | 26.4 | 46.2% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
| Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary | 298 | 17.1 | 86.9% | Santa Maria-Bonita |
| Benjamin Foxen Elementary | 210 | 21.0 | 40.0% | Blochman Union Elementary |
| Orcutt School for Independent Study | 44 | 21.8 | 59.1% | Orcutt Union Elementary |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
2 other schools in Santa Maria, 693 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Partnership Charter | 372 | 16.1 | 36.3% | Family Partnership Charter District |
| Trivium Charter | 321 | 30.7 | 37.7% | Trivium Charter District |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Santa Maria's public schools compare with California's
The median Santa Maria school has 21.9 students per full-time teacher, about the same as the California median of 21.6. Its median school enrolls 800 students (state 471).
| Santa Maria | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 21.9 | 21.6 |
| Median school size (students) | 800 | 471 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | not reported | not reported |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 79% | 74% |
| Charter schools | 5.6% | 13% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 36 Santa Maria schools and the 9,918 California schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Santa Maria
- Santa Maria-Bonita School DistrictRuns 21 of Santa Maria's 36 public schools and spent $16,207 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$16,207
- Santa Maria High, the largest high school in Santa Maria3,143 students in 2024-25, 21.9 per teacher.3,143
- Compare Santa Maria-Bonita School District with Orcutt Union ElementarySanta Maria's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in CaliforniaCalifornia's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Santa Maria addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in California
- Los Angeles564 schools
- San Diego283 schools
- San Jose232 schools
- Sacramento197 schools
- Fresno179 schools
- Bakersfield146 schools
- San Francisco123 schools
- Stockton122 schools
Questions about schools in Santa Maria
How many public schools are in Santa Maria, CA?
36 public schools with an address in Santa Maria were open in 2024-25: 4 high, 6 middle, 24 elementary, 2 other, enrolling 31,170 students. 2 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in Santa Maria?
Santa Maria High, with 3,143 students in 2024-25 (Santa Maria Joint Union High).Which districts run Santa Maria's schools?
Santa Maria-Bonita School District (21 schools), Orcutt Union Elementary (8 schools), Santa Maria Joint Union High (4 schools), Family Partnership Charter District (1 school), and 2 more. A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25