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Wasco, California - 6 schools
An equity score of 76/100 ranks Wasco Union Elementary #145 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,487 per pupil, Wasco Union Elementary ranks #461 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,414
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$17,487
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Wasco Union Elementary operates 6 public schools serving 3,414 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 2 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 Kern County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,487 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 16.0% local, 69.9% state, and 14.2% 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 76/100, ranked #145 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 578.8:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 32.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 96.1% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% White, 1.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Teresa Burke Elementary, with a diversity index of 10.1/100.
Its largest campus is Palm Avenue Middle, enrolling 631 students (18% of the district's total enrollment).
Palm Avenue Middle accounts for 18.2% of all Wasco Union Elementary student enrollment
That concentration means Wasco 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.
Wasco Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 84.5% 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). 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.
Wasco Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 579:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Wasco Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 32.0% — 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.
Wasco Union Elementary has 6 schools, including 2 middle, 4 elementary. Total enrollment is 3,414 students.
How much does Wasco Union Elementary spend per student?
Wasco Union Elementary spends $17,487 per student. The district has an equity score of 76/100, ranking #145 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Wasco Union Elementary?
Wasco Union Elementary students are 96.1% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% White, 1.1% African American, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Wasco Union Elementary?
Wasco Union Elementary has an equity score of 76/100, ranking #145 out of 1517 districts in California.