West Central Reporter

There were 940 white students enrolled in Cass County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.6% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 48.5% of the 1,939 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the seven schools in Cass County, Beardstown Junior/Senior High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 233 students.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of White students enrolment	Total enrollment
Beardstown Junior/Senior High School	28.6%	814
Virginia Elementary School	88.6%	184
A-C Central Elementary School	96.9%	129
Gard Elementary School	24.8%	484
Virginia Junior and Senior High School	87.5%	136
A-C Central High School	93.1%	101
A-C Central Middle School	94.5%	91