Sangamon Sun

There were 29 multiracial students enrolled in Menard County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 11.5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that multiracial students made up 1.7% of the 1,716 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the least represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the seven schools in Menard County, Porta Central School recorded the highest enrollment of multiracial students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 19 students.

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.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of Multiracial students enrolment	Total enrollment
Porta Central School	6.8%	281
Porta High School	2.4%	425
Petersburg Elementary School	0%	345
Athens Junior High School	0%	146
Athens Senior High School	0%	311
Greenview Elementary School	0%	102
Greenview Junior/Senior High School	0%	106