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Gilbert, Arizona - 38 schools
An equity score of 30/100 ranks Gilbert Unified District (4239) #253 of 437 districts in Arizona (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,253 per pupil, Gilbert Unified District (4239) ranks #478 of 634 Arizona districts by per-pupil spending (Arizona districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
33,281
Total Enrollment
38
Schools
$9,253
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Gilbert Unified District (4239) operates 38 public schools serving 33,281 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Arizona. The school portfolio breaks down into 33 combined, 5 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Maricopa County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,253 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 634 Arizona districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arizona compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 43.1% local, 44.8% state, and 12.1% 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 30/100, ranked #253 of 437 in Arizona against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 7 of 38 schools offering Advanced Placement (126 AP courses district-wide), a 399.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 36.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 53.6% White, 30.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.5% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Spectrum Elementary, with a diversity index of 71.1/100.
Its largest campus is Highland High School, enrolling 2,992 students (9% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Pioneer Elementary School, at 310 students, a 10x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Gilbert Unified District (4239) school enrollment varies 9.7× across entities
Gilbert Unified District (4239) school enrollment ranges from 310 students (lowest) to 2,992 students (highest), a spread of 2,682 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Gilbert Unified District (4239) student-counselor ratio is 400:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Gilbert Unified District (4239) chronic absenteeism rate is 36.9% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Gilbert Unified District (4239)'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.