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El Centro, California - 1 schools
An equity score of 86/100 ranks Meadows Union Elementary #32 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $18,478 per pupil, Meadows Union Elementary ranks #344 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
384
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$18,478
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Meadows Union Elementary operates 1 public schools serving 384 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary 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 Imperial County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,478 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 14.6% local, 66.6% state, and 18.9% 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 86/100, ranked #32 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 176:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 26.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% White, 0.9% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Meadows Elementary, enrolling 352 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Meadows Elementary accounts for 91.7% of all Meadows Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Meadows Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Meadows 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.
Meadows Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 77.1% 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.
Meadows Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 176:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Meadows Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 26.1% — 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 Meadows Union Elementary is typically wider than the Meadows Union Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
Meadows Union Elementary has 1 school, including 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 384 students.
How much does Meadows Union Elementary spend per student?
Meadows Union Elementary spends $18,478 per student. The district has an equity score of 86/100, ranking #32 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Meadows Union Elementary?
Meadows Union Elementary students are 91.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% White, 0.9% African American, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Meadows Union Elementary?
Meadows Union Elementary has an equity score of 86/100, ranking #32 out of 1517 districts in California.