South Central Reporter

There were 39 Black students enrolled in Bond County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, 11.4% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 2.1% of the 1,846 students in the county. They were the least represented ethnicity.

Among the two districts in Bond County, Bond County Community Unit School District 2 was the only one that enrolled Black students in the 2023-24 school year.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Bond 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
Bond County Community Unit School District 2	2.6%	1,517