There were 117 Hispanic students enrolled in Cobden School Unit District 17 in the 2024-25 school year, 2.5% fewer than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Data showed that Cobden School Unit District 17 welcomed 448 students during the 2024-25 school year. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 26.1% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the district.
Cobden School Unit District 17 roughly covers schools within Union County and has a main office in Cobden.
Among the three schools in Cobden School Unit District 17, Cobden Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2024-25 school year, with a total of 51 students.
Nationwide, public K-12 education spending has approached roughly $857 billion, with average per-student spending near $17,000, funded primarily through state and local sources. Spending varies widely by state, and Illinois ranks above the national average, with roughly $22,000 spent per student when state, local, and federal funding are combined.
Illinois public school enrollment continues a long-term downward trend. According to statewide reporting and education data analyses, total enrollment fell to about 1.85 million students as of the 2023-24 school year, and major districts such as Chicago Public Schools saw further declines—for example, CPS reported a drop of more than 9,000 students between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 counts.
| Year | Total District Enrollment | Total of Hispanic Students | Hispanic students (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 448 | 117 | 26.1% |
| 2023-24 | 439 | 120 | 27.3% |
| 2022-23 | 459 | 118 | 25.7% |
| 2021-22 | 463 | 128 | 27.6% |
| 2020-21 | 480 | 144 | 30% |
Information in this article was obtained from the Illinois Report Card. The source data can be found here.
