Sangamon Sun

There were 1,613 white students enrolled in Menard County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 1.2% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 94% of the 1,716 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the seven schools in Menard County, Porta High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 403 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 White students enrolment	Total enrollment
Porta High School	94.8%	425
Petersburg Elementary School	96.8%	345
Athens Senior High School	92%	311
Porta Central School	91.5%	281
Athens Junior High School	89%	146
Greenview Junior/Senior High School	99.1%	106
Greenview Elementary School	96.1%	102