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Buellton, California - 2 schools
An equity score of 58/100 ranks Buellton Union Elementary #549 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $24,480 per pupil, Buellton Union Elementary ranks #122 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
519
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$24,480
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Buellton Union Elementary operates 2 public schools serving 519 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary, 1 middle 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 Santa Barbara County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $24,480 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 187 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 66.8% local, 25.8% state, and 7.4% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 58/100, ranked #549 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 535.9:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 21.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 52.4% Hispanic or Latino, 37.9% White, 1.5% Asian across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Oak Valley Elementary, enrolling 377 students (69% of the district's total enrollment).
Oak Valley Elementary accounts for 69.2% of all Buellton Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Buellton Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Buellton Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
Buellton Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 536:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Buellton Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 21.0% — 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 Buellton Union Elementary is typically wider than the Buellton Union Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
How many schools are in Buellton Union Elementary?
Buellton Union Elementary has 2 schools, including 1 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 519 students.
How much does Buellton Union Elementary spend per student?
Buellton Union Elementary spends $24,480 per student. The district has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #549 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Buellton Union Elementary?
Buellton Union Elementary students are 52.4% Hispanic or Latino, 37.9% White, 1.5% Asian, 0.7% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Buellton Union Elementary?
Buellton Union Elementary has an equity score of 58/100, ranking #549 out of 1517 districts in California.