At $18,285 per pupil, Blue Lake Union Elementary ranks #775 of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
172
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$18,285
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Blue Lake Union Elementary operates 1 public schools serving 172 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary 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 Humboldt County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,285 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 41.7% local, 41.7% state, and 16.6% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one.
and 27.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 60.1% White, 15.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Blue Lake Union Elementary, enrolling 153 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Enrollment across the district's NCES-reporting campuses fell 7% between 2022-23 and 2023-24 (172 to 160 students), and the student-teacher ratio tightened by 0.8 students per teacher as staffing held steadier than enrollment, per the NCES Common Core of Data annual universe files.
Of the district's $3,247,000 in reported FY2023 expenditures, 61.6% went to instruction, 27.2% to support services, and 0% to capital outlay, a fairly typical instruction/support/capital split for a public school district. Figures come from the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey's function-level breakdown, not the aggregate per-pupil figure above.
Blue Lake Union Elementary accounts for 89.0% of all Blue Lake Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Blue Lake Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Blue Lake Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: elementary. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Because it contains a majority of the affected population, enrollment-weighted aggregates will sit closer to this entity's reported fields than to those of smaller peers; an unweighted entity count answers a different question.
Blue Lake Union Elementary reports 58.7% free-lunch eligibility
The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Blue Lake Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 27.5% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Blue Lake Union Elementary is typically wider than the Blue Lake Union Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Blue Lake Union Elementary?
Blue Lake Union Elementary has 1 school, including 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 172 students.
How much does Blue Lake Union Elementary spend per student?
Blue Lake Union Elementary spends $18,285 per student.
What is the demographic composition of Blue Lake Union Elementary?
Blue Lake Union Elementary students are 60.1% White, 15.7% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.