Sangamon Sun

There were 6,252 Black students enrolled in Sangamon County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 23.7% of the 26,385 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the 10 districts in Sangamon County, Springfield School District 186 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 5,789 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Sangamon 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
Springfield School District 186	45.1%	12,849
Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5	6.5%	4,579
Riverton Community Unit School District 14	5.7%	1,201
Rochester Community Unit School District 3A	2%	2,031
Pleasant Plains Community Unit School District 8	1.5%	1,273
Auburn Community Unit School District 10	1.4%	1,071
Williamsville Community Unit School District 15	0.8%	1,441
Community Unit School District 16	1.2%	843