East Central Reporter

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

Of the 1,172 students attending Jasper County schools, 95.9% were white.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Jasper County, representing 96.2% of the student body.

During the 2022-23 school year, all schools in Jasper County had a predominantly single-race student body, consisting of white students.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased by 0.5% 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
Jasper County Junior High	White	95.7%	186
Newton Community High School	White	96.8%	378
Newton Elementary School	White	95.9%	485
Ste. Marie Elementary School	White	93.5%	123