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Gila Bend, Arizona - 2 schools
An equity score of 59/100 ranks Gila Bend Unified District (4238) #68 of 437 districts in Arizona (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,389 per pupil, Gila Bend Unified District (4238) ranks #173 of 634 Arizona districts by per-pupil spending (Arizona districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
467
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$13,389
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) operates 2 public schools serving 467 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arizona. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 1 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 Maricopa County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,389 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 634 Arizona districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arizona compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 71.0% local, 12.8% state, and 16.2% 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 59/100, ranked #68 of 437 in Arizona against a state average of 38, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
and 64.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 68.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% White, 1.3% Asian across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Gila Bend Elementary, enrolling 309 students (64% of the district's total enrollment).
Gila Bend Elementary accounts for 64.2% of all Gila Bend Unified District (4238) student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Gila Bend Unified District (4238) a distant remainder — means Gila Bend Unified District (4238)-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% 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). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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.
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) chronic absenteeism rate is 64.0% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Gila Bend Unified District (4238)'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Arizona
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Gila Bend Unified District (4238)?
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) has 2 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high. Total enrollment is 467 students.
How much does Gila Bend Unified District (4238) spend per student?
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) spends $13,389 per student. The district has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #68 in Arizona.
What is the demographic composition of Gila Bend Unified District (4238)?
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) students are 68.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% White, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Gila Bend Unified District (4238)?
Gila Bend Unified District (4238) has an equity score of 59/100, ranking #68 out of 437 districts in Arizona.