SANTA MARIA ISD operates 5 public schools serving 567 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Texas. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 high, 1 other, 1 middle schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. Aggregated across those campuses, enrollment totals 524 pupils using the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022-23 release, and the district is geographically located in Cameron County County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $29,193 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, which aggregates every revenue and spending line reported under federal accounting standards. The funding mix is 9.4% local, 62.4% state, and 28.2% federal — a breakdown that matters because districts leaning heavily on local revenue are more exposed to property-tax swings, while higher federal shares typically track Title I concentration. Average teacher compensation clocks in at $122,316 per NCES F-33, a signal of the district's ability to recruit and retain staff against neighbouring districts. The district's equity score — 95/100, ranked #3 of 1044 in Texas against a state average of 50 — measures how evenly funding reaches schools within its boundaries.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 143.2:1 student-counselor ratio that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 39.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 99.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% White, 0.3% African American across the district's schools.
Tony Gonzalez El accounts for 42.7% of all SANTA MARIA ISD student enrollment
That concentration — well above the 8.4% national median for largest-entity share — means SANTA MARIA ISD-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: other. 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 MARIA ISD school enrollment varies 75× across entities
SANTA MARIA ISD school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 224 students (highest), a spread of 221 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.
SANTA MARIA ISD has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 99.5% 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 — including this one — 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.
SANTA MARIA ISD student-counselor ratio is 143:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
SANTA MARIA ISD chronic absenteeism rate is 39.8% — 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.
SANTA MARIA ISD has 5 schools, including 1 other, 3 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 567 students.
How much does SANTA MARIA ISD spend per student?
SANTA MARIA ISD spends $29,193 per student. The district has an equity score of 95/100, ranking #3 in Texas.
What is the average teacher salary in SANTA MARIA ISD?
The average teacher salary in SANTA MARIA ISD is $122,316 per year, according to the NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey.
What is the average rent near SANTA MARIA ISD?
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in Cameron County County is $N/A/month (2026). This affects housing affordability for families in the district.
What is the demographic composition of SANTA MARIA ISD?
SANTA MARIA ISD students are 99.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% White, 0.3% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for SANTA MARIA ISD?
SANTA MARIA ISD has an equity score of 95/100, ranking #3 out of 1044 districts in Texas. This score measures resource distribution fairness across schools in the district.