West Central Reporter

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

Of the 1,928 students attending Cass County schools, 50.1% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 33.7% of Cass County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Cass County, representing 52% of the student body.

Gard Elementary School had the most diverse student body in Cass County, including African American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 0.4% 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
A-C Central Elementary School	White	97.3%	147
A-C Central High School	White	96.3%	107
A-C Central Middle School	White	87.8%	82
Beardstown Junior/Senior High School	Hispanic	57.4%	813
Gard Elementary School	Hispanic	38.7%	470
Virginia Elementary School	White	90.4%	177
Virginia Junior and Senior High School	White	90.2%	132