Rockford Sun

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

Of the 8,949 students attending Boone County schools, 50.8% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 41.4% of Boone County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Boone County, representing 52.4% of the student body.

Belvidere High School and Belvidere North High School had the most diverse student body in Boone County, including Asian, African American, Hispanic, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased by 0.4% 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
Belvidere Central Middle School	White	57.7%	901
Belvidere High School	Hispanic	51.1%	1,192
Belvidere North High School	White	59%	1,396
Belvidere South Middle School	Hispanic	54.1%	763
Caledonia Elementary School	White	70.6%	402
Capron Elementary School	White	54.5%	165
Lincoln Elementary School	Hispanic	47.5%	551
Manchester Elementary School	White	67.1%	143
Meehan Elementary School	Hispanic	53.2%	647
North Boone High School	White	56.6%	505
North Boone Middle School	White	62%	237
North Boone Upper Elementary School	White	59.2%	218
Perry Elementary School	White	63.6%	220
Poplar Grove Elementary School	White	72.5%	244
Seth Whitman Elementary School	White	54.8%	655
Washington Academy	Hispanic	64.6%	710