Macon Reporter

There were 4,089 Black students enrolled in Macon County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 27.7% of the 14,736 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the seven districts in Macon County, Decatur School District 61 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 3,889 students.

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

District	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Decatur School District 61	50.1%	7,757
Maroa Forsyth Community Unit School District 2	6%	1,166
Mount Zion Community Unit School District 3	1.8%	2,391
Warrensburg-Latham Community Unit School District 11	4%	979
Argenta-Oreana Community Unit School District 1	4.1%	894
Meridian Community Unit School District 15	1.3%	952