Lucia Mar Unified School District had largest number of their students enrolled in 12th grade in 2023-24 school year

Tony Thurmond, Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education | California Department of Education

By SLO Reporter

Feb 12, 2025

In the 2023-24 school year, 12th grade was the largest grade in Lucia Mar Unified School District, with 876 students making up 9.1% of the student body, according to the California Department of Education. This represents a growth of 0.3% compared to the previous year.

The grade with the second highest number of students was 11th grade, with 873 students, or 9.1% of the student body.

The school that had the highest number of 12th grade students in Lucia Mar Unified School District during the period was Arroyo Grande High School, while Pacific View Academy had the fewest.

Overall, Lucia Mar Unified School District enrolled 9,619 students, ranking as the 168th highest enrolled district in California for the 2023-24 school year. It also ranked 168th 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.

Lucia Mar Unified School District Enrollment by Grade Yearly Comparision

Enrollment Numbers Among District Schools in 2023-24 School Year

School	Total Enrollment
Arroyo Grande High School	1,976
Branch Elementary School	254
Central Coast New Technology High School	286
Dana Elementary School	601
Fairgrove Elementary School	369
Grover Beach Elementary School	402
Grover Heights Elementary School	301
Harloe Elementary School	605
Judkins Middle School	450
Lange (Dorothea) Elementary School	566
Lopez Continuation High School	115
Mesa Middle School	477
Nipomo Elementary School	386
Nipomo High School	867
Ocean View Elementary School	527
Oceano Elementary School	393
Pacific View Academy	135
Paulding Middle School	562
Shell Beach Elementary School	347