Santa Cruz County Districts: Pajaro Valley Unified School District welcomed most students in 2023-24 school year

Pajaro Valley Unified School District had the highest enrollment among Santa Cruz County school districts, welcoming 17,428 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 50.7% of them were boys, 49.2% were girls, and 0.1% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.

Data also showed that the majority of students were Hispanic or Latino, making up 84.2% of Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s total enrollment.

Among the 13 districts in Santa Cruz County, San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District ranked second in enrollment numbers with 5,533 students, while Santa Cruz City High School District welcomed 4,492 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District roughly covers schools within Santa Cruz County and has a main office in Watsonville.

In the previous school year, San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District had the highest number of students among Santa Cruz County districts.

After peaking at 6.3 million in the early 2000s, public school enrollment in California has marked its seventh consecutive decline in the 2023-24 school year, with projections indicating it could fall to approximately 5.2 million by the 2033-34 school year. 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.

Although chronic absenteeism in California decreased in 2023, it remains double the pre-pandemic rate. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, chronic absenteeism in the state public schools reached 25% in 2023, up from 12% in 2019.