East Central Reporter

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

Of the 2,787 students attending Shelby County schools, 95.2% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 0.4% of Shelby County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Shelby County, representing 95.9% of the student body.

Moulton Elementary School had the most diverse student body in Shelby County, including Hispanic and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased by 0.3% 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
Central A&M High School	White	95.9%	218
Cowden-Herrick Grade School	White	96.8%	154
Cowden-Herrick Junior/Senior High School	White	96.9%	159
Gregory Intermediate School	White	96.3%	190
Main Street Elementary School	White	94.4%	378
Moulton Elementary School	White	93%	426
Okaw Valley Middle School	White	94.6%	111
Shelbyville High School	White	96.4%	337
Shelbyville Kindergarten Center	White	95.3%	86
Stewardson-Strasburg Elementary School	White	95.6%	270
Stewardson-Strasburg High School	White	98.4%	122
Windsor Elementary School	White	94.1%	205
Windsor Junior and Senior High School	White	93.1%	131