There were 3,902 Black students enrolled in Decatur School District 61 in the 2024-25 school year, 0.3% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Data showed that Decatur School District 61 welcomed 7,740 students during the 2024-25 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 50.4% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the district.
Decatur School District 61 roughly covers schools within Macon County and has a main office in Decatur.
Among the 14 schools in Decatur School District 61, MacArthur High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2024-25 school year, with a total of 508 students.
Nationwide, public K-12 education spending has approached roughly $857 billion, with average per-student spending near $17,000, funded primarily through state and local sources. Spending varies widely by state, and Illinois ranks above the national average, with roughly $22,000 spent per student when state, local, and federal funding are combined.
Illinois public school enrollment continues a long-term downward trend. According to statewide reporting and education data analyses, total enrollment fell to about 1.85 million students as of the 2023-24 school year, and major districts such as Chicago Public Schools saw further declines—for example, CPS reported a drop of more than 9,000 students between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 counts.
| Year | Total District Enrollment | Total of Black Students | Black students (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 7,740 | 3,902 | 50.4% |
| 2023-24 | 7,757 | 3,889 | 50.1% |
| 2022-23 | 7,890 | 3,995 | 50.6% |
| 2021-22 | 8,147 | 3,995 | 49% |
| 2020-21 | 8,451 | 4,060 | 48% |
Information in this article was obtained from the Illinois Report Card. The source data can be found here.
