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Rio Rico, Arizona - 5 schools
An equity score of 35/100 ranks Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) #220 of 437 districts in Arizona (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $9,524 per pupil, Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) ranks #444 of 634 Arizona districts by per-pupil spending (Arizona districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,673
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$9,524
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) operates 5 public schools serving 3,673 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arizona. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle 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 Cruz County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $9,524 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 634 Arizona districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arizona compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 28.9% local, 50.5% state, and 20.6% 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 35/100, ranked #220 of 437 in Arizona against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 1050.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 53.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 97.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% White, 0.4% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Coatimundi Middle School, with a diversity index of 6.6/100.
Its largest campus is Rio Rico High School, enrolling 1,397 students (39% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is San Cayetano Elementary School, at 395 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Rio Rico High School accounts for 38.0% of all Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458)-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.
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) school enrollment varies 3.5× across entities
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) school enrollment ranges from 395 students (lowest) to 1,397 students (highest), a spread of 1,002 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.7% 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.
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) student-counselor ratio is 1050:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) chronic absenteeism rate is 53.5% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458)'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Arizona
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458)?
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 combined, 1 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,673 students.
How much does Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) spend per student?
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) spends $9,524 per student. The district has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #220 in Arizona.
What is the demographic composition of Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458)?
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) students are 97.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% White, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458)?
Santa Cruz Valley Unified District (4458) has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #220 out of 437 districts in Arizona.