District profile / California

Monterey Peninsula Unified

Monterey, California · Superintendent: Daniel Diffenbaugh · #159 of 554 California districts by enrollment

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9,350

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$14,222

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · about the same as the California median

20.8

Students per teacher

2024-25 · California median 21.7

Monterey Peninsula Unified is a public school district based in Monterey, California, serving 9,350 students in 20 schools. By enrollment it ranks #159 of the 554 California districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 71% of them. Its schools average 468 students each, fewer than the California median of 533. Its superintendent is Daniel Diffenbaugh. It spends about $14,222 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 20.8 students per teacher.

How Monterey Peninsula compares

Monterey PeninsulaCalifornia median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$14,222

California median $13,724 · about the same · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$7,772

California median $8,321 · 7% below · FY2020-21

Students per school468

California median 533 · 12% below · 2024-25

Students per teacher20.8

California median 21.7 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor584

California median 474 · 23% above · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$168.0 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 15%State 39%Local 46%

Measure	Monterey Peninsula	California median	Year
Current spending per student	$14,222	$13,724	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$7,772	$8,321	FY2020-21
Total spending	$172.9 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$168.0 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	450	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	1,128	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	20.8	21.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	584	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

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Daniel Diffenbaugh

Superintendent, Monterey Peninsula Unified

Source: California Department of Education, School Directory, checked 2026-10-19. Report a change

In the news

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Peer districts in California

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Woodland Joint UnifiedWoodland	9,355	17	$12,626	21.4	#158
Monterey Peninsula UnifiedMonterey · this district	9,350	20	$14,222	20.8	#159
Baldwin Park UnifiedBaldwin Park	9,346	15	$15,026	20.3	#160
Tulare CityTulare	9,294	18	$12,996	22.5	#161
Alameda UnifiedAlameda	9,292	16	$14,060	23.6	#162

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Harrison County SchoolsClarksburg, WV	9,358	$13,487	12.4
Janesville School DistrictJanesville, WI	9,355	$12,814	12.2
Griffin-Spalding CountyGriffin, GA	9,350	$12,123	14.0
MurfreesboroMurfreesboro, TN	9,342	$11,077	n/a

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-monterey-peninsula-unified