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Arcata, California - 2 schools
An equity score of 48/100 ranks Pacific Union Elementary #825 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,212 per pupil, Pacific Union Elementary ranks #1782 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
571
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$10,212
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Pacific Union Elementary operates 2 public schools serving 571 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 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 Humboldt County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,212 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 187 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 12.5% local, 69.8% state, and 17.7% 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 48/100, ranked #825 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 356:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 29.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 49.1% White, 27.4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Pacific Union Elementary, enrolling 534 students (94% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Trillium Charter, at 34 students, a 16x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Pacific Union Elementary accounts for 93.5% of all Pacific Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Pacific Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Pacific 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.
Pacific Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 62.8% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Pacific Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 356:1 — 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.
Pacific Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 29.0% — 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 Pacific Union Elementary is typically wider than the Pacific Union Elementary-aggregate figure suggests.
Pacific Union Elementary has 2 schools, including 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 571 students.
How much does Pacific Union Elementary spend per student?
Pacific Union Elementary spends $10,212 per student. The district has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #825 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Pacific Union Elementary?
Pacific Union Elementary students are 49.1% White, 27.4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% African American, 1.5% Asian, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Pacific Union Elementary?
Pacific Union Elementary has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #825 out of 1517 districts in California.