District profile / California

Sierra Sands Unified

Ridgecrest, California · Superintendent: April Moore · #255 of 554 California districts by enrollment

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4,974

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$13,508

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · about the same as the California median

21.0

Students per teacher

2024-25 · California median 21.7

Sierra Sands Unified is a public school district based in Ridgecrest, California, serving 4,974 students in 11 schools. By enrollment it ranks #255 of the 554 California districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 54% of them. Its schools average 452 students each, fewer than the California median of 533. Its superintendent is April Moore. It spends about $13,508 per student on day-to-day operations, about the state median. It has roughly 21.0 students per teacher.

How Sierra Sands compares

Sierra SandsCalifornia median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$13,508

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

Instruction spending per student$7,948

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

Students per school452

California median 533 · 15% below · 2024-25

Students per teacher21.0

California median 21.7 · about the same · 2024-25

Students per counselor293

California median 474 · 38% below · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$102.2 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 19%State 70%Local 11%

Measure	Sierra Sands	California median	Year
Current spending per student	$13,508	$13,724	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$7,948	$8,321	FY2020-21
Total spending	$71.4 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$102.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	237	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	562	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	21.0	21.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	293	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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April Moore

Superintendent, Sierra Sands 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
Sierra Sands UnifiedRidgecrest · this district	4,974	11	$13,508	21.0	#255
Jefferson ElementaryDaly City	4,952	14	$13,119	21.3	#256
Ramona City UnifiedRamona	4,949	11	$12,199	21.9	#257
Atwater ElementaryAtwater	4,925	11	$12,769	22.9	#258
Monrovia UnifiedMonrovia	4,920	11	$13,843	22.6	#259

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Denison ISDDenison, TX	4,977	$11,577	13.7
BillericaBillerica, MA	4,972	$20,915	13.6
Franklin CountyWinchester, TN	4,972	$9,877	n/a
Dare County SchoolsNags Head, NC	4,968	$11,742	14.3

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-sierra-sands-unified