South West Illinois News

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

Of the 2,492 students attending Perry County schools, 88.8% were white. multiracial students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 5.6% of Perry County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Perry County, representing 88.4% of the student body.

Du Quoin Elementary School, Du Quoin High School, and Du Quoin Middle School had the most diverse student body in Perry 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 dropped 2.3% 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
Community Consolidated School	White	96.6%	203
Du Quoin Elementary School	White	85.8%	480
Du Quoin High School	White	82.7%	457
Du Quoin Middle School	White	86.3%	380
Pinckneyville Community High School	White	93.4%	427
Pinckneyville Elementary School	White	92.5%	254
Pinckneyville Middle School	White	90.4%	208
Tamaroa Elementary School	White	91.6%	83