Southern Illinois News

Of the ethnicities represented in Alexander County schools, white was the most prevalent ethnicity among Alexander County students in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 673 students attending Alexander County schools, 45.8% were white. African American students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 40.7% of Alexander County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Alexander County, representing 46.8% of the student body.

Cairo Elementary School and Egyptian Elementary School had the most diverse student body in Alexander County, including African American, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased by 9.8% 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
Cairo Elementary School	African American	75.8%	182
Cairo Junior/Senior High School	African American	85.6%	118
Egyptian Elementary School	White	73.7%	190
Egyptian Junior High School	White	77.3%	66
Egyptian Senior High School	White	86.3%	117