Enrollment Analysis: White students comprised 70.6% of LaSalle County’s districts student body in 2023-24 school year

Jason Helfer Chief Education Officer - Instruction | Twitter

By V. G. Ross

Oct 6, 2025

There were 10,135 white students enrolled in LaSalle County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, 1.2% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 70.6% of the 14,350 students in the county. They were the most represented ethnicity.

Among the 26 districts in LaSalle County, Ottawa Elementary School District 141 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,280 students.

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

Ethnic Composition of LaSalle County School Districts Enrollment (2023-24)

Enrollment Demographics in LaSalle County Districts During 2023-24 School Year

District	white Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Ottawa Elementary School District 141	72.4%	1,768
Ottawa Township High School District 140	75.7%	1,240
Streator Elementary School District 44	60.9%	1,488
LaSalle-Peru Township High School District 120	67.8%	1,167
Peru Elementary School District 124	68.9%	944
Mendota Community Consolidated School District 289	52.4%	1,001
Community Unit School District 2	86.4%	595
Streator Township High School District 40	63.5%	767
La Salle Elementary School District 122	52.5%	890
Seneca Community Consolidated School District 170	83.5%	485
Marseilles Elementary School District 150	74.6%	508
Wallace Community Consolidated School District 195	85.5%	406
Oglesby Elementary School District 125	74.8%	457
Earlville Community Unit School District 9	82.4%	403
Seneca Township High School District 160	86.8%	355
Mendota Township High School District 280	51.4%	473
Waltham Community Consolidated School District 185	87.8%	254
Grand Ridge Community Consolidated School District 95	91.3%	207
Leland Community Unit School District 1	77.9%	240
Miller Township Community Consolidated School District 210	91%	189
Dimmick Community Consolidated School District 175	87%	146
Tonica Community Consolidated School District 79	85.7%	119
Allen-Otter Creek Community Consolidated School District 65	88%	92
Lostant Community Unit School District 425	98.2%	56
Rutland Community Consolidated School District 230	78.5%	65
Deer Park Community Consolidated School District 82	94.3%	35