South Central Reporter

There were 413 multiracial students enrolled in Marion County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 6.2% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that multiracial students made up 6.6% of the 6,223 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the 13 districts in Marion County, Centralia School District 135 recorded the highest enrollment of multiracial students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 177 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Marion County.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 schools. There were 130,467 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped 3% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

District	multiracial Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Centralia School District 135	16%	1,105
Centralia High School District 200	11.1%	831
Salem School District 111	5.3%	921
Sandoval Community Unit School District 501	7.4%	417
Central City School District 133	7.4%	338
Salem Community High School District 600	3.2%	715
Odin Public School District 722	6.4%	251