An equity score of 47/100 ranks Mountain Empire Unified #841 of 1526 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $18,521 per pupil, Mountain Empire Unified ranks #728 of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,824
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$18,521
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mountain Empire Unified operates 9 public schools serving 1,824 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 high, 2 middle, 1 combined 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 Diego County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,521 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1880 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 31.0% local, 53.7% state, and 15.4% 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 47/100, ranked #841 of 1526 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 340.5:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 44.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.8% Hispanic or Latino, 25.2% White, 0.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Clover Flat Elementary, with a diversity index of 64.2/100.
Its largest campus is Mountain Empire High, enrolling 412 students (22% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Campo High (Continuation), at 13 students, a 32x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Mountain Empire High accounts for 21.8% of all Mountain Empire Unified student enrollment
That concentration means Mountain Empire Unified-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: high. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.
Mountain Empire Unified school enrollment varies 32× across entities
Mountain Empire Unified school enrollment ranges from 13 students (lowest) to 412 students (highest), a spread of 399 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Mountain Empire Unified student-counselor ratio is 341:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Mountain Empire Unified is typically wider than the Mountain Empire Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Mountain Empire Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 44.0% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.