Enrollment
912
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060558011436
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High — Santa Maria, CA
Federal NCES profile for Kunst (Tommie) Junior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 24/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Santa Maria-Bonita · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
+9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kunst (Tommie) Junior High compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High reports 912 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 56.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 60.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 9% above the California average and 17% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 304 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 45.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Santa Maria-Bonita spends $15,149 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.7% from local sources (property taxes), 68.7% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Kunst (Tommie) Junior High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.4:1 | ▼ 15% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.6% | ▲ 9% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 912 | top 87% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
60.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 9% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.4:1
students per teacher
— 15% below state mean
Top 19% in California — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
45.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,149
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 304 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
52
in-school suspensions + 78 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 912 Top 87% in California — larger than 13% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 56.0
Students per teacher 18.4:1 -15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 60.6% +9% vs state
NCES ID 060558011436
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 93.5%
Asian 2.6%
White 2.5%
Two or More 0.9%
African American 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 93.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 304:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 45.7%
In-school suspensions 52
Out-of-school suspensions 78
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria-Bonita, which includes Kunst (Tommie) Junior High.
$15,149
Per student
-16%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.7%
State 68.7%
Federal 11.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,177
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,050
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Enrollment
- 998
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 974
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 917
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar middle schools in Santa Maria
5 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Fesler (Isaac) Junior High
Standard public school
974 students 18.8:1 students per teacher
El Camino Junior High
Standard public school
830 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Arellanes Junior High
Standard public school
668 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
Orcutt Junior High
Standard public school
464 students 21.3:1 students per teacher
Lakeview Junior High
Standard public school
463 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Kunst (Tommie) Junior High
How many students attend Kunst (Tommie) Junior High?
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High has 912 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kunst (Tommie) Junior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Kunst (Tommie) Junior High is 18.4:1, which is 15% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 16% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kunst (Tommie) Junior High?
60.6% of students at Kunst (Tommie) Junior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kunst (Tommie) Junior High?
The largest demographic group at Kunst (Tommie) Junior High is Hispanic or Latino at 93.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kunst (Tommie) Junior High?
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.