There were 1,517 Black students enrolled in Rusk County schools in 2022-23 school year

Texas State Board Of Education Secretary Pat Hardy (2024) | twitter.com/pathardy

By Longview Times

Dec 5, 2024

There were 1,517 Black students enrolled in Rusk County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.5% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Rusk County welcomed 10,774 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 14.1% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 28 schools in Rusk County, Henderson High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 200 students.

Texas is found to be one of the least-educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state's school districts. Per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.

“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock said.

Ethnicities in Rusk County in 2022-23 School Year

Enrollment Demographics in Rusk County Schools During 2022-23 School Year

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Henderson High School	19.2	1,042
Kilgore Middle School	12.4	885
Henderson Middle School	17.1	785
William E. Wylie Elementary School	17	671
Kilgore Primary School	12.5	664
Carlisle School	4.2	623
Kilgore Intermediate School	12.2	582
Chandler Elementary School	11.8	526
Northside Elementary School	21.1	484
Tatum High School	15.5	464
Monnie Meyer Wylie Primary School	19.6	418
West Rusk High School	13	369
Tatum Primary School	14	349
Tatum Middle School	17.8	338
Tatum Elementary School	12.3	325
Overton High School	8.9	257
Mt. Enterprise Elementary School	9.3	257
West Rusk Middle School	8.9	246
Mt. Enterprise High School	10.5	239
Overton Elementary School	11.8	237
West Rusk Elementary School	7.2	223
West Rusk Intermediate School	11.1	208
Billy Moore	17.3	196
Laneville School	34	150
Leveretts Chapel Elementary School	7.5	120
Leveretts Chapel High School	10.1	69
Leveretts Chapel Junior High School	4.4	45
Arp Coop Alternative School	0	2