East Central Reporter

The majority of students in Edgar County schools were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 2,575 students attending Edgar County schools, 94.6% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 1.2% of Edgar County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Edgar County, representing 94.7% of the student body.

Shiloh High School had the most even distribution of races among county schools, including 91.2% white students and 6% multiracial students.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 0.1% compared to the previous year.

In the 2021-22 school year, Illinois had roughly 1.9 million students enrolled across approximately schools. There were more than 130,000 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Illinois has increased its state funding for public schools by $350 million, bringing the total to $8.6 billion for the upcoming year. This is in line with a 2017 law aiming to provide adequate funding to all schools by 2027.

However, experts suggest that this goal may be delayed unless education funding jumps to at least $550 million. According to a Center for Tax and Budget Accountability report, there’s currently a funding gap of about $2.3 billion.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Carolyn Wenz Elementary School	White	92.1%	242
Chrisman Elementary School	White	94.6%	129
Chrisman High School	White	96.9%	97
Chrisman-Scottland Junior High School	White	92.6%	68
Crestwood Elementary School	White	96.4%	307
Crestwood Junior High School	White	96.8%	126
Kansas Elementary School	White	92.7%	96
Kansas High School	White	93.5%	77
Mayo Middle School	White	92.3%	247
Memorial Elementary School	White	92.4%	288
Paris Cooperative High School	White	97.6%	544
Shiloh Elementary School	White	95.3%	172
Shiloh High School	White	91.2%	182