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Santa Cruz, California - 6 schools
An equity score of 49/100 ranks Live Oak Elementary #785 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,067 per pupil, Live Oak Elementary ranks #715 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,691
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$16,067
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Live Oak Elementary operates 6 public schools serving 1,691 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 1 middle 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 Santa Cruz County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,067 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 36.7% local, 50.3% state, and 13.0% 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 49/100, ranked #785 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 515.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 19.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 48.8% Hispanic or Latino, 41.3% White, 2.4% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ocean Alternative Education Center, with a diversity index of 60.2/100.
Its largest campus is Shoreline Middle, enrolling 478 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Ocean Alternative Education Center, at 76 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Shoreline Middle accounts for 28.3% of all Live Oak Elementary student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Live Oak Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: middle. 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.
Live Oak Elementary school enrollment varies 6.3× across entities
Live Oak Elementary school enrollment ranges from 76 students (lowest) to 478 students (highest), a spread of 402 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.
Live Oak Elementary student-counselor ratio is 516:1 — 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.
Live Oak Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 19.4% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Live Oak Elementary is typically wider than the Live Oak Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
Live Oak Elementary has 6 schools, including 1 middle, 5 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,691 students.
How much does Live Oak Elementary spend per student?
Live Oak Elementary spends $16,067 per student. The district has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #785 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Live Oak Elementary?
Live Oak Elementary students are 48.8% Hispanic or Latino, 41.3% White, 2.4% Asian, 1.6% African American, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Live Oak Elementary?
Live Oak Elementary has an equity score of 49/100, ranking #785 out of 1517 districts in California.