North Egypt News

The majority of students in Franklin County schools were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 5,581 students attending Franklin County schools, 93.7% were white. multiracial students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 1.8% of Franklin County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Franklin County, representing 94% of the student body.

Benton Consolidated High School and Benton Grade School K-4 had the most diverse student body in Franklin County, including Hispanic, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased by 0.3% compared to the previous year.

In the 2021-22 school year, Illinois had roughly 1.9 million students enrolled across approximately schools. There were more than 130,000 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Illinois has increased its state funding for public schools by $350 million, bringing the total to $8.6 billion for the upcoming year. This is in line with a 2017 law aiming to provide adequate funding to all schools by 2027.

However, experts suggest that this goal may be delayed unless education funding jumps to at least $550 million. According to a Center for Tax and Budget Accountability report, there’s currently a funding gap of about $2.3 billion.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Akin Community Consolidated Elementary School	White	98.1%	106
Benton Consolidated High School	White	90.8%	565
Benton Grade School 5-8	White	95.6%	452
Benton Grade School K-4	White	92.2%	614
Central Junior High School	White	89.9%	217
Christopher Elementary School	White	96%	478
Christopher High School	White	93.2%	207
Denning Elementary School	White	94%	466
Ewing-Northern Elementary School	White	96.6%	234
Frankfort Community High School	White	94.1%	422
Frankfort Intermediate School	White	92.3%	418
Sesser-Valier Elementary School	White	91.4%	279
Sesser-Valier High School	White	94.1%	188
Sesser-Valier Junior High School	White	90.8%	131
Thompsonville Grade School	White	99.1%	215
Thompsonville High School	White	99%	103
Zeigler-Royalton Elementary School	White	93.5%	246
Zeigler-Royalton High School	White	93.8%	130
Zeigler-Royalton Junior High School	White	92.7%	110