With low-income school districts underfunded by around $6,700 per pupil, WalletHub today released its report on the Most and Least Equitable School Districts in California.

To find out where school funding is distributed most fairly, a new report scored the equitability of each school district in California based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.

Alongside this report, WalletHub also released rankings for the States with the Most and Least Equitable School Districts, California ranked as the 2nd least equitable overall.

Most & Least Equitable School Districts in California

Most Equitable Least Equitable
1.  Fullerton Elementary School District 905.  Montecito Union Elementary School District
2.  Tustin Unified School District 906.  Hillsborough City Elementary School District
3.  Templeton Unified School District 907.  Portola Valley Elementary School District
4.  Shandon Joint Unified School District 908.  Big Sur Unified School District
5.  Napa Valley Unified School District 909.  Silver Fork Elementary School District
6.  Norris Elementary School District 910.  Bolinas-Stinson Union School District
7.  Torrance Unified School District 911.  Sausalito Marin City School District
8.  Hart-Ransom Union Elementary School District 912.  Woodside Elementary School District
9.  Alta Loma Elementary School District 913.  Spencer Valley Elementary School District
10. Hope Elementary – Santa Barbara School District 914.  Vista Del Mar Union School District

What are the long-term benefits of making sure all school districts have equitable funding?

“If we make sure that every school district has equitable funding, students in less affluent communities will have a level playing field with students in wealthy districts. As a result, their graduation rates will increase, as will their likelihood to pursue higher education and earn larger incomes,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “College graduates have $154 – $1,115 higher median weekly earnings than people with a high school diploma and no college experience, depending on the degree.”

What can we do to support underprivileged school districts during this difficult economic period?

“To support underprivileged school districts during this difficult economic period, we should make sure that all schools have the resources they need to provide a robust education in the coming year. Students have experienced a large amount of learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot expect all parents to be able to afford resources to help their children catch up. That’s especially true during this period of high inflation,” Gonzalez added.  “All schools should have enough funding for an effective catch-up year, including tutoring resources for students who have fallen behind. We should also make sure all students can eat a nutritious breakfast and lunch if their parents are unable to provide them due to rising food costs.”

To view the full report, please visit here.

Source: WalletHub