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Scotts Valley, California - 4 schools
An equity score of 19/100 ranks Scotts Valley Unified #1438 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,337 per pupil, Scotts Valley Unified ranks #1540 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,168
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$12,337
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Scotts Valley Unified operates 4 public schools serving 2,168 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 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 $12,337 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 61.0% local, 32.0% state, and 6.9% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 19/100, ranked #1438 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 396:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 18.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 65.4% White, 17.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Vine Hill Elementary, with a diversity index of 56.3/100.
Its largest campus is Scotts Valley High, enrolling 611 students (29% of the district's total enrollment).
Scotts Valley High accounts for 28.2% of all Scotts Valley Unified student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Scotts Valley 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.
Scotts Valley Unified student-counselor ratio is 396:1 — 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.
Scotts Valley Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 18.6% — 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 Scotts Valley Unified is typically wider than the Scotts Valley Unified-aggregate figure suggests.
Scotts Valley Unified has 4 schools, including 1 high, 2 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 2,168 students.
How much does Scotts Valley Unified spend per student?
Scotts Valley Unified spends $12,337 per student. The district has an equity score of 19/100, ranking #1438 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Scotts Valley Unified?
Scotts Valley Unified students are 65.4% White, 17.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% Asian, 0.3% African American, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Scotts Valley Unified?
Scotts Valley Unified has an equity score of 19/100, ranking #1438 out of 1517 districts in California.