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Twentynine Palms, California - 16 schools
An equity score of 65/100 ranks Morongo Unified #381 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,753 per pupil, Morongo Unified ranks #792 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
7,407
Total Enrollment
16
Schools
$15,753
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Morongo Unified operates 16 public schools serving 7,407 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 elementary, 3 high, 2 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly 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 San Bernardino County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,753 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 11.7% local, 72.7% state, and 15.6% 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 65/100, ranked #381 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 16 schools offering Advanced Placement (17 AP courses district-wide), a 435.2:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 41.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 43.8% White, 40.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Oasis Elementary, with a diversity index of 70.2/100.
Its largest campus is Yucca Valley High, enrolling 1,168 students (16% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Black Rock Alternative/Continuation, at 122 students, a 10x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Yucca Valley High accounts for 15.8% of all Morongo Unified student enrollment
That concentration means Morongo Unified-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Morongo Unified school enrollment varies 9.6× across entities
Morongo Unified school enrollment ranges from 122 students (lowest) to 1,168 students (highest), a spread of 1,046 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.
Morongo Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 59.5% 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 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.
Morongo Unified student-counselor ratio is 435:1 — 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.
Morongo Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 41.3% — 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.