North Egypt News

There were 591 Black students enrolled in Jefferson County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, 5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 10.8% of the 5,461 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the 14 districts in Jefferson County, Mount Vernon School District 80 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 420 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Jefferson 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
Mount Vernon School District 80	28.3%	1,483
Mount Vernon Township High School District 201	14.2%	1,205