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Capitola, California - 5 schools
An equity score of 33/100 ranks Soquel Union Elementary #1177 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,894 per pupil, Soquel Union Elementary ranks #1439 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,654
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,894
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Soquel Union Elementary operates 5 public schools serving 1,654 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 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 $12,894 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 67.6% local, 23.2% state, and 9.2% 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 33/100, ranked #1177 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 379.8:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 52.5% White, 36.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Soquel Elementary, with a diversity index of 61.3/100.
Its largest campus is New Brighton Middle, enrolling 585 students (38% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Opal Cliffs, at 3 students, a 195x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
New Brighton Middle accounts for 35.4% of all Soquel Union Elementary student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Soquel Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: middle. 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.
Soquel Union Elementary school enrollment varies 195× across entities
Soquel Union Elementary school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 585 students (highest), a spread of 582 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Soquel Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 380:1 — 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.
Soquel Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 30.6% — 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.
Soquel Union Elementary has 5 schools, including 1 middle, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,654 students.
How much does Soquel Union Elementary spend per student?
Soquel Union Elementary spends $12,894 per student. The district has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #1177 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Soquel Union Elementary?
Soquel Union Elementary students are 52.5% White, 36.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% Asian, 0.8% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Soquel Union Elementary?
Soquel Union Elementary has an equity score of 33/100, ranking #1177 out of 1517 districts in California.