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New Castle, Pennsylvania - 3 schools
An equity score of 53/100 ranks Union Area Sd #281 of 648 districts in Pennsylvania (state average 49). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,090 per pupil, Union Area Sd ranks #456 of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending (Pennsylvania districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
713
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$16,090
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Union Area Sd operates 3 public schools serving 713 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Pennsylvania. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 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 Lawrence County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,090 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending. See how Pennsylvania compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 34.6% local, 54.8% state, and 10.5% 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 53/100, ranked #281 of 648 in Pennsylvania against a state average of 49, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (6 AP courses district-wide), a 183.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 20.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 77.9% White, 12.1% African American, 1.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Union Area Ms, with a diversity index of 44.7/100.
Its largest campus is Union Memorial El Sch, enrolling 320 students (47% of the district's total enrollment).
Union Memorial El Sch accounts for 44.9% of all Union Area Sd student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Union Area Sd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Union Area Sd has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 58.7% 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 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.
Union Area Sd student-counselor ratio is 184:1 — 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.
Union Area Sd chronic absenteeism rate is 20.0% — 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 Union Area Sd is typically wider than the Union Area Sd-aggregate figure suggests.
Union Area Sd has 3 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 713 students.
How much does Union Area Sd spend per student?
Union Area Sd spends $16,090 per student. The district has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #281 in Pennsylvania.
What is the demographic composition of Union Area Sd?
Union Area Sd students are 77.9% White, 12.1% African American, 1.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Union Area Sd?
Union Area Sd has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #281 out of 648 districts in Pennsylvania.