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Eureka, California - 3 schools
An equity score of 72/100 ranks South Bay Union Elementary #225 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,647 per pupil, South Bay Union Elementary ranks #601 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
421
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$16,647
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
South Bay Union Elementary operates 3 public schools serving 421 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 elementary 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 Humboldt County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,647 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 19.4% local, 60.9% state, and 19.8% 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 72/100, ranked #225 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.
a 101.7:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 50.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 48.0% White, 31.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is South Bay Elementary, with a diversity index of 67.5/100.
Its largest campus is Pine Hill Elementary, enrolling 189 students (51% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is South Bay Charter, at 44 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Pine Hill Elementary accounts for 44.9% of all South Bay Union Elementary student enrollment
That dominant concentration means South Bay Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.
South Bay Union Elementary school enrollment varies 4.3× across entities
South Bay Union Elementary school enrollment ranges from 44 students (lowest) to 189 students (highest), a spread of 145 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.
South Bay Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 67.5% 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). 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.
South Bay Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 102:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
South Bay Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 50.2% — 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.
How many schools are in South Bay Union Elementary?
South Bay Union Elementary has 3 schools, including 3 elementary. Total enrollment is 421 students.
How much does South Bay Union Elementary spend per student?
South Bay Union Elementary spends $16,647 per student. The district has an equity score of 72/100, ranking #225 in California.
What is the demographic composition of South Bay Union Elementary?
South Bay Union Elementary students are 48.0% White, 31.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% Asian, 0.9% African American, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for South Bay Union Elementary?
South Bay Union Elementary has an equity score of 72/100, ranking #225 out of 1517 districts in California.