Macon Reporter

There were 8,697 white students enrolled in Macon County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, 3.6% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that white students made up 57.5% of the 15,129 students in Macon County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity.

Among the seven districts in Macon County, Decatur School District 61 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 2,535 students.

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

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 schools. There were 130,467 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped 3% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

District	% of white students enrolment	Total enrollment
Decatur School District 61	31.1%	8,147
Mount Zion Community Unit School District 3	91.6%	2,375
Maroa Forsyth Community Unit School District 2	80.7%	1,154
Meridian Community Unit School District 15	93.1%	934
Warrensburg-Latham Community Unit School District 11	86.1%	952
Argenta-Oreana Community Unit School District 1	82.6%	923
Sangamon Valley Community Unit School District 9	93.6%	644