Enrollment Analysis: Hispanic students comprised 33.3% of Cass County’s districts student body in 2023-24 school year

Brent O'Daniell Superintendent at Beardstown Community Unit School District 15 | Official Website

By I. R. Roe

Sep 28, 2025

There were 699 Hispanic students enrolled in Cass County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, 1.1% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 33.3% of the 2,101 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the three districts in Cass County, Beardstown Community Unit School District 15 recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 684 students.

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

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

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.

Ethnic Composition of Cass County School Districts Enrollment (2023-24)