Leadership
District profile / California
Capistrano Unified
40,358
Students
2024-25 school year
59
Schools
2024-25 school year
$12,431
Spending per student
FY2020-21 · 9% below the California median
23.0
Students per teacher
2024-25 · California median 21.7
Capistrano Unified is a public school district based in San Juan Capistrano, California, serving 40,358 students in 59 schools. By enrollment it ranks #11 of the 554 California districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 98% of them. Its schools average 684 students each, more than the California median of 533. Its superintendent is Christopher Brown. It spends about $12,431 per student on day-to-day operations, 9% less than the California median. It has roughly 23.0 students per teacher. We've matched 2 news stories to the district.
How Capistrano compares
CapistranoCalifornia median, districts with 1,000+ students
Spending and staffing
Where the money comes from$715.9 million in revenue · FY2020-21
Federal 6%State 37%Local 56%
| Measure | Capistrano | California median | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current spending per student | $12,431 | $13,724 | FY2020-21 |
| Instruction spending per student | $8,022 | $8,321 | FY2020-21 |
| Total spending | $613.6 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Total revenue | $715.9 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 1,756 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Total staff (full-time equivalent) | 3,877 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Students per teacher | 23.0 | 21.7 | 2024-25 |
| Students per counselor | 443 | 474 | 2024-25 |
Spending: NCES school district finance survey (F-33), FY2020-21. Staffing and enrollment: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25. Via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. The California median compares districts with 1,000 or more students.
Leadership
Moves tracker →Christopher Brown
Source: California Department of Education, School Directory, checked 2026-10-19. Report a change
In the news
2 stories matchedPeer districts in California
Compare side by side →| District | Students | Schools | Spending per student | Students per teacher | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capistrano UnifiedSan Juan Capistrano · this district | 40,358 | 59 | $12,431 | 23.0 | #11 |
| San Juan UnifiedCarmichael | 39,446 | 68 | $12,961 | 22.6 | #12 |
| Riverside UnifiedRiverside | 38,033 | 49 | $13,951 | 23.3 | #13 |
| Irvine UnifiedIrvine | 38,028 | 45 | $13,060 | 26.6 | #14 |
| Sacramento City UnifiedSacramento | 37,913 | 73 | $15,654 | 22.0 | #15 |
Similar-size districts nationally
| District | Students | Spending per student | Students per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| United ISDLaredo, TX | 40,742 | $10,550 | 15.8 |
| Chesapeake City Public SchoolsChesapeake, VA | 40,607 | $12,928 | 13.8 |
| Tucson Unified District (4403)Tucson, AZ | 40,316 | $10,066 | 14.8 |
| Clear Creek ISDLeague City, TX | 39,684 | $9,912 | 16.1 |
Peers are the districts closest in enrollment, so they can still differ in many other ways. Enrollment, school counts and phone numbers are from the NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25.
Printed from Superintendent's Corner: https://superintendentscorner.com/district-ca-capistrano-unified