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District profile / California
Desert Sands Unified
25,615
Students
2024-25 school year
35
Schools
2024-25 school year
$13,985
Spending per student
FY2020-21 · about the same as the California median
23.7
Students per teacher
2024-25 · California median 21.7
Desert Sands Unified is a public school district based in La Quinta, California, serving 25,615 students in 35 schools. By enrollment it ranks #32 of the 554 California districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 94% of them. Its schools average 732 students each, more than the California median of 533. Its superintendent is Kelly May-Vollmar. It spends about $13,985 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 23.7 students per teacher. We've matched 1 news story to the district.
How Desert Sands compares
Desert SandsCalifornia median, districts with 1,000+ students
Spending and staffing
Where the money comes from$478.2 million in revenue · FY2020-21
Federal 12%State 51%Local 37%
| Measure | Desert Sands | California median | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current spending per student | $13,985 | $13,724 | FY2020-21 |
| Instruction spending per student | $8,715 | $8,321 | FY2020-21 |
| Total spending | $432.6 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Total revenue | $478.2 million | n/a | FY2020-21 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 1,080 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Total staff (full-time equivalent) | 2,528 | n/a | 2024-25 |
| Students per teacher | 23.7 | 21.7 | 2024-25 |
| Students per counselor | 316 | 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 →Kelly May-Vollmar
Source: California Department of Education, School Directory, checked 2026-10-19. Report a change
In the news
1 story matchedPeer districts in California
Compare side by side →| District | Students | Schools | Spending per student | Students per teacher | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Sands UnifiedLa Quinta · this district | 25,615 | 35 | $13,985 | 23.7 | #32 |
| Chino Valley UnifiedChino | 25,579 | 35 | $11,682 | 23.4 | #33 |
| Glendale UnifiedGlendale | 25,329 | 34 | $14,037 | 23.6 | #34 |
| Manteca UnifiedManteca | 25,248 | 29 | $11,831 | 23.4 | #35 |
| West Contra Costa UnifiedRichmond | 25,244 | 54 | $15,242 | 22.0 | #36 |
Similar-size districts nationally
| District | Students | Spending per student | Students per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmond Public SchoolsEdmond, OK | 25,746 | $8,942 | 17.2 |
| El Paso County Colorado School District 49Peyton, CO | 25,689 | $9,082 | 18.6 |
| Academy District 20Colorado Springs, CO | 25,607 | $10,108 | 16.3 |
| Douglas CountyDouglasville, GA | 25,521 | $11,048 | 15.6 |
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-desert-sands-unified