NW Illinois News

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

Of the 3,723 students attending Lee County schools, 82.8% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 6.8% of Lee County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Lee County, representing 82.5% of the student body.

Washington Elementary School had the most even distribution of races among county schools, including 76.8% white students, 9.5% multiracial students, 6.9% Hispanic students, and 5.5% African American students.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 3.2% 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
Amboy Central Elementary School	White	92.7%	273
Amboy High School	White	86.6%	209
Amboy Junior High School	White	87.9%	206
Ashton-Franklin Center Elementary School	White	87.9%	257
Ashton-Franklin Center High School	White	91.1%	213
Dixon High School	White	79.9%	740
Jefferson Elementary School	White	79.9%	309
Madison School	White	81.7%	367
Paw Paw Elementary School	White	81%	79
Paw Paw Junior High School	White	82.4%	34
Reagan Middle School	White	80.9%	544
Steward Elementary School	White	78.6%	70
Washington Elementary School	White	76.8%	422