Illinois Valley Times

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

Of the 14,390 students attending LaSalle County schools, 71.3% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 20% of LaSalle County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in LaSalle County, representing 72.4% of the student body.

La Salle-Peru Township High School had the most diverse student body in LaSalle 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 dropped 0.5% 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
Blackstone Elementary School	White	54.1%	220
Centennial Elementary School	White	60.3%	466
Central Intermediate School	White	72.7%	344
Deer Park C.C. Elementary School	White	84.3%	51
Dimmick Community Consolidated School District 175	White	88.8%	152
Earlville Early Learning Center	White	86.5%	37
Earlville Elementary School	White	84.6%	241
Earlville Junior/Senior High School	White	82.3%	96
Grand Ridge School	White	92.1%	191
Harding Grade School	White	83.8%	136
Jefferson Elementary School	White	64.9%	248
Kimes Elementary School	White	62.2%	447
La Salle-Peru Township High School	White	69.5%	1,177
Leland Elementary School	White	79.5%	166
Leland High School	White	91.8%	61
Lincoln Elementary School	White	54.9%	304
Lincoln Elementary School	White	68.2%	412
Lincoln Elementary School	White	76.3%	337
Lincoln Junior High School	White	54.3%	247
Lostant Elementary School	White	95.5%	66
Marseilles Elementary School	White	76.6%	513
McKinley Elementary School	White	80.8%	359
Mendota Township High School	White	51.7%	484
Milton Pope Elementary School	White	91.1%	190
Northbrook School	White	52.1%	497
Northlawn Junior High School	White	59.5%	602
Northview Elementary School	White	70.1%	581
Northwest Elementary School	White	51.8%	620
Ottawa Township High School	White	75.8%	1,225
Parkside Middle School	White	73.4%	361
Ransom Grade School	White	84.2%	95
Rutland Elementary School	White	78.3%	60
Seneca Elementary School South Campus	White	89.3%	197
Seneca Grade School North Campus	White	83.7%	288
Seneca High School	White	87.2%	383
Serena High School	White	86.5%	155
Serena Middle School	White	85.8%	183
Shepherd Middle School	White	74.7%	376
Sheridan Elementary School	White	85.1%	154
Streator Township High School	White	64.6%	803
Tonica Grade School	White	86.2%	109
Wallace Elementary School	White	84.4%	410
Waltham Elementary School	White	88.9%	216
Washington Elementary School	White	76.2%	130