District profile / California

Saddleback Valley Unified

Mission Viejo, California · Superintendent: Crystal Turner · #44 of 554 California districts by enrollment

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22,691

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$12,689

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 8% below the California median

22.7

Students per teacher

2024-25 · California median 21.7

Saddleback Valley Unified is a public school district based in Mission Viejo, California, serving 22,691 students in 34 schools. By enrollment it ranks #44 of the 554 California districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 92% of them. Its schools average 667 students each, more than the California median of 533. Its superintendent is Crystal Turner. It spends about $12,689 per student on day-to-day operations, 8% less than the California median. It has roughly 22.7 students per teacher.

How Saddleback Valley compares

Saddleback ValleyCalifornia median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$12,689

California median $13,724 · 8% below · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$8,644

California median $8,321 · about the same · FY2020-21

Students per school667

California median 533 · 25% above · 2024-25

Students per teacher22.7

California median 21.7 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor2,063

California median 474 · 335% above · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$383.0 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 8%State 29%Local 63%

Measure	Saddleback Valley	California median	Year
Current spending per student	$12,689	$13,724	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$8,644	$8,321	FY2020-21
Total spending	$339.1 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$383.0 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	999	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	2,238	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	22.7	21.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	2,063	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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Crystal Turner

Superintendent, Saddleback Valley 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
Rialto UnifiedRialto	23,073	30	$14,341	23.2	#41
Hemet UnifiedHemet	22,891	27	$15,161	21.9	#42
Placentia-Yorba Linda UnifiedPlacentia	22,698	34	$12,415	22.8	#43
Saddleback Valley UnifiedMission Viejo · this district	22,691	34	$12,689	22.7	#44
Downey UnifiedDowney	22,462	21	$14,339	23.7	#45

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Washington County Public SchoolsHagerstown, MD	22,772	$16,033	14.5
Northshore School DistrictBothell, WA	22,735	$15,412	18.7
Springdale School DistrictSpringdale, AR	22,685	$10,697	15.0
Alamance-Burlington SchoolsBurlington, NC	22,661	$10,280	16.4

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-saddleback-valley-unified