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O'neals, California - 8 schools
An equity score of 42/100 ranks Chawanakee Unified #965 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,012 per pupil, Chawanakee Unified ranks #1415 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,433
Total Enrollment
8
Schools
$13,012
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Chawanakee Unified operates 8 public schools serving 1,433 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 high, 3 elementary, 1 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Madera County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,012 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 36.3% local, 56.8% state, and 6.9% 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 42/100, ranked #965 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 8 schools offering Advanced Placement (12 AP courses district-wide), a 642.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 43.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 52.3% White, 27.2% Hispanic or Latino, 2.6% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mountain Oaks High, with a diversity index of 69.8/100.
Its largest campus is Hillside Elementary, enrolling 310 students (22% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Cedar Continuation High, at 10 students, a 31x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Hillside Elementary accounts for 21.6% of all Chawanakee Unified student enrollment
That concentration means Chawanakee Unified-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.
Chawanakee Unified school enrollment varies 31× across entities
Chawanakee Unified school enrollment ranges from 10 students (lowest) to 310 students (highest), a spread of 300 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Chawanakee Unified student-counselor ratio is 642:1 — 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.
Chawanakee Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 43.6% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.