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Delano, California - 12 schools
An equity score of 83/100 ranks Delano Union Elementary #54 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,208 per pupil, Delano Union Elementary ranks #291 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,219
Total Enrollment
12
Schools
$19,208
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Delano Union Elementary operates 12 public schools serving 6,219 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 9 elementary, 3 middle 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 Kern County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,208 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 12.5% local, 65.0% state, and 22.5% 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 83/100, ranked #54 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 675.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 1.3% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Morningside, with a diversity index of 35.2/100.
Its largest campus is Pioneer, enrolling 1,043 students (17% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Princeton Street Elementary, at 308 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Pioneer accounts for 16.8% of all Delano Union Elementary student enrollment
That concentration means Delano 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.
Delano Union Elementary school enrollment varies 3.4× across entities
Delano Union Elementary school enrollment ranges from 308 students (lowest) to 1,043 students (highest), a spread of 735 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Delano Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 78.6% 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.
Delano Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 676:1 — 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.
Delano Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 30.7% — 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.
Delano Union Elementary has 12 schools, including 9 elementary, 3 middle. Total enrollment is 6,219 students.
How much does Delano Union Elementary spend per student?
Delano Union Elementary spends $19,208 per student. The district has an equity score of 83/100, ranking #54 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Delano Union Elementary?
Delano Union Elementary students are 86.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 1.3% White, 0.5% African American, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Delano Union Elementary?
Delano Union Elementary has an equity score of 83/100, ranking #54 out of 1517 districts in California.