Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
El Centro, California - 5 schools
An equity score of 77/100 ranks Central Union High #131 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,425 per pupil, Central Union High ranks #649 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,093
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$16,425
Per-Pupil Spending
High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Central Union High operates 5 public schools serving 4,093 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 high 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 Imperial County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,425 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 15.6% local, 74.3% state, and 10.1% 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 77/100, ranked #131 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (34 AP courses district-wide), a 161.4:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 40.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 96.0% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% White, 1.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mt. Signal Virtual Academy, with a diversity index of 12.8/100.
Its largest campus is Central Union High, enrolling 2,006 students (49% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Phoenix Rising High, at 20 students, a 100x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Central Union High accounts for 49.0% of all Central Union High student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Central Union High a distant remainder — means Central Union High-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.
Central Union High school enrollment varies 100× across entities
Central Union High school enrollment ranges from 20 students (lowest) to 2,006 students (highest), a spread of 1,986 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Central Union High has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 70.4% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Central Union High student-counselor ratio is 161:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Central Union High chronic absenteeism rate is 40.4% — 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.
Central Union High has 5 schools, including 5 high. Total enrollment is 4,093 students.
How much does Central Union High spend per student?
Central Union High spends $16,425 per student. The district has an equity score of 77/100, ranking #131 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Central Union High?
Central Union High students are 96.0% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% White, 1.0% African American, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Central Union High?
Central Union High has an equity score of 77/100, ranking #131 out of 1517 districts in California.