Southern Illinois News

There were 2,146 white students enrolled in Union County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 2.4% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 87.4% of the 2,456 students in the county. They were the most represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the seven districts in Union County, Anna Community Consolidated School District 37 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 487 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Union County.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 schools. There were 130,467 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped 3% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

District	white Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Anna Community Consolidated School District 37	88.1%	553
Anna Jonesboro Community High School District 81	87.2%	470
Cobden School Unit District 17	70.6%	459
County of Union School District 43	94.8%	330
Shawnee Community Unit School District 84	96%	278
Dongola Unit School District 66	94.3%	228
Lick Creek Community Consolidated School District 16	94.2%	138