Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Santa Barbara, California - 1 schools
An equity score of 73/100 ranks Montecito Union Elementary #210 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $35,296 per pupil, Montecito Union Elementary ranks #43 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
353
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$35,296
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Montecito Union Elementary operates 1 public schools serving 353 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 Santa Barbara County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $35,296 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 187 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 91.1% local, 8.3% state, and 0.6% 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 73/100, ranked #210 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 435.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 12.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 74.5% White, 12.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Montecito Union, enrolling 353 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Montecito Union accounts for 100.0% of all Montecito Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Montecito Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Montecito 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.
Montecito Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 436:1 — 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.
Montecito Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 12.5% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
How many schools are in Montecito Union Elementary?
Montecito Union Elementary has 1 school, including 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 353 students.
How much does Montecito Union Elementary spend per student?
Montecito Union Elementary spends $35,296 per student. The district has an equity score of 73/100, ranking #210 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Montecito Union Elementary?
Montecito Union Elementary students are 74.5% White, 12.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Montecito Union Elementary?
Montecito Union Elementary has an equity score of 73/100, ranking #210 out of 1517 districts in California.