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Chowchilla, California - 2 schools
An equity score of 37/100 ranks Chowchilla Union High #1092 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,604 per pupil, Chowchilla Union High ranks #1065 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,145
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$14,604
Per-Pupil Spending
High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Chowchilla Union High operates 2 public schools serving 1,145 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Madera County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,604 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 36.5% local, 43.8% state, and 19.7% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 37/100, ranked #1092 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 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (11 AP courses district-wide), a 317.5:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 53.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 75.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% White, 2.8% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Chowchilla Union High, enrolling 1,017 students (93% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Gateway High (Continuation), at 74 students, a 14x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Chowchilla Union High accounts for 88.8% of all Chowchilla Union High student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Chowchilla Union High a distant remainder — means Chowchilla 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.
Chowchilla Union High has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 79.0% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. 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.
Chowchilla Union High student-counselor ratio is 318:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Chowchilla Union High is typically wider than the Chowchilla Union High-aggregate figure suggests.
Chowchilla Union High chronic absenteeism rate is 53.3% — 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.
Chowchilla Union High has 2 schools, including 2 high. Total enrollment is 1,145 students.
How much does Chowchilla Union High spend per student?
Chowchilla Union High spends $14,604 per student. The district has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #1092 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Chowchilla Union High?
Chowchilla Union High students are 75.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% White, 2.8% African American, 1.4% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Chowchilla Union High?
Chowchilla Union High has an equity score of 37/100, ranking #1092 out of 1517 districts in California.