District profile / California

Taft Union High

Taft, California · Superintendent: Jason Hodgson · #532 of 554 California districts by enrollment

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1,149

Students

2024-25 school year

Schools

2024-25 school year

$20,266

Spending per student

FY2020-21 · 48% above the California median

18.2

Students per teacher

2024-25 · California median 21.7

Taft Union High is a public school district based in Taft, California, serving 1,149 students in 2 schools. By enrollment it ranks #532 of the 554 California districts with 1,000 or more students, larger than about 4% of them. Its schools average 574 students each, about the same as the California median of 533. Its superintendent is Jason Hodgson. It spends about $20,266 per student on day-to-day operations, 48% more than the California median. It has roughly 18.2 students per teacher.

How Taft Union High compares

Taft Union HighCalifornia median, districts with 1,000+ students

Spending per student$20,266

California median $13,724 · 48% above · FY2020-21

Instruction spending per student$10,200

California median $8,321 · 23% above · FY2020-21

Students per school574

California median 533 · 8% above · 2024-25

Students per teacher18.2

California median 21.7 · 16% below · 2024-25

Students per counselor383

California median 474 · 19% below · 2024-25

Spending and staffing

Where the money comes from$31.7 million in revenue · FY2020-21

Federal 7%State 45%Local 48%

Measure	Taft Union High	California median	Year
Current spending per student	$20,266	$13,724	FY2020-21
Instruction spending per student	$10,200	$8,321	FY2020-21
Total spending	$24.2 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Total revenue	$31.7 million	n/a	FY2020-21
Teachers (full-time equivalent)	63	n/a	2024-25
Total staff (full-time equivalent)	164	n/a	2024-25
Students per teacher	18.2	21.7	2024-25
Students per counselor	383	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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Jason Hodgson

Superintendent, Taft Union High

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

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Peer districts in California

Compare side by side →

District	Students	Schools	Spending per student	Students per teacher	Rank
Fall River Joint UnifiedBurney	1,156	12	$15,206	17.0	#529
Armona Union ElementaryArmona	1,155	3	$12,778	20.3	#530
Heber ElementaryHeber	1,155	2	$15,557	20.3	#531
Taft Union HighTaft · this district	1,149	2	$20,266	18.2	#532
Las Lomitas ElementaryMenlo Park	1,138	2	$26,855	17.8	#533

Similar-size districts nationally

District	Students	Spending per student	Students per teacher
Westville CUSD 2Westville, IL	1,149	$13,093	17.4
Southwestern CUSD 9Brighton, IL	1,149	$14,821	12.9
North AdamsNorth Adams, MA	1,149	$22,316	10.5
Ashland-Greenwood Public SchsAshland, NE	1,149	$11,803	13.7

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-taft-union-high