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Santa Paula, California - 9 schools
An equity score of 71/100 ranks Santa Paula Unified #238 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,587 per pupil, Santa Paula Unified ranks #446 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
4,853
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$17,587
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Santa Paula Unified operates 9 public schools serving 4,853 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 elementary, 2 high, 1 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 Ventura County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,587 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 20.4% local, 68.9% state, and 10.7% 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 71/100, ranked #238 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 1 of 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (12 AP courses district-wide), a 265:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 41.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 94.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.2% White, 0.6% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Thelma Bedell Elementary, with a diversity index of 19.9/100.
Its largest campus is Santa Paula High, enrolling 1,494 students (33% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Renaissance High, at 113 students, a 13x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Santa Paula High accounts for 30.8% of all Santa Paula Unified student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Santa Paula 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.
Santa Paula Unified school enrollment varies 13× across entities
Santa Paula Unified school enrollment ranges from 113 students (lowest) to 1,494 students (highest), a spread of 1,381 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.
Santa Paula Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 78.1% 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 Paula Unified student-counselor ratio is 265:1 — 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 Santa Paula Unified is typically wider than the Santa Paula Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Santa Paula Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 41.0% — 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 Paula Unified has 9 schools, including 2 high, 6 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 4,853 students.
How much does Santa Paula Unified spend per student?
Santa Paula Unified spends $17,587 per student. The district has an equity score of 71/100, ranking #238 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Santa Paula Unified?
Santa Paula Unified students are 94.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.2% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% African American, averaged across 9 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Santa Paula Unified?
Santa Paula Unified has an equity score of 71/100, ranking #238 out of 1517 districts in California.