North Inland News

In the 2023-24 school year, kindergarten was the largest grade in Ramona City Unified School District, with 484 students making up 9.5% of the student body, according to the California Department of Education. This represents a growth of 0.9% compared to the previous year.

The grade with the second highest number of students was 12th grade, with 460 students, or 9.1% of the student body.

The school that had the highest number of kindergarten students in Ramona City Unified School District during the period was James Dukes Elementary School, while Mountain Valley Academy had the fewest.

Overall, Ramona City Unified School District enrolled 5,072 students, ranking as the 279th highest enrolled district in California for the 2023-24 school year. It ranked 275th highest in the previous school year.

California's public schools face a growing financial crisis driven by declining enrollment and an increase in chronic absenteeism, both impacting the state's school funding model.

Enrollment, which peaked at 6.3 million students in the early 2000s, has steadily declined to under 6 million today, with projections indicating it could fall below 5.2 million by 2032. This trend is attributed to lower birth rates, slowed immigration, and families relocating out of state due to high housing costs. Rural and coastal districts have been particularly affected, facing tough decisions such as school closures and staffing reductions.

At the same time, chronic absenteeism has surged from 12% pre-pandemic to 25%, disproportionately impacting younger students and jeopardizing their long-term success.

School	Total Enrollment
Barnett Elementary School	478
Future Bound Independent Study Secondary	30
Hanson Elementary School	533
James Dukes Elementary School	501
Montecito High (Continuation)	97
Mountain Valley Academy	195
Mt. Woodson Elementary School	370
Olive Peirce Middle School	716
Ramona Community Montessori	270
Ramona Elementary School	400
Ramona High School	1,482