Capistrano Unified

Capistrano Unified is a suburban school district in Orange County, California, serving 41,855 students across 59 schools. The district experienced a 2.1% enrollment decline from the prior year, with a relatively balanced school structure of 37 elementary, 13 middle, and 9 high schools. The student-teacher ratio stands at 22.6:1 across 1,856 teachers.

Academic performance shows a graduation rate of 95.4%, substantially above California's state average of 89.9%. However, chronic absenteeism is present at 11.7%. The student body reflects notable diversity, with 49.4% White, 27.6% Hispanic, 8.8% Asian, and 1.6% Black students. Approximately 34.3% of students are economically disadvantaged, 9.0% are English learners, and 17.4% receive special education services.

Financially, Capistrano Unified operates with a total budget of $613.6 million and per-pupil spending of $17,515, which falls below California's state average of $19,711. Revenue composition shows heavy reliance on local funding at 56.4%, with state sources contributing 37.2% and federal funding providing 6.4%. This funding structure suggests the district depends significantly on local property tax revenues, which may create constraints relative to districts with higher state funding allocations or per-pupil expenditures.