Abilene Times

Nolan County schools enrolled 3,543 students who identified as economically disadvantaged in the state during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of the 5,516 students enrolled in Nolan County schools, 64.2% were considered economically disadvantaged. This is an 86.3% increase over the previous school year.

Nolan County enrolled the 88th highest number of students identified as economically disadvantaged among Texas counties.

Education in Texas is often a hot button issue, especially as test scores lag behind other states.

"The problems commonly cited are flaws in the school financing system, relatively low teacher salary, poor test performance by students...dropouts from traditional schools in favor of charter schools...gun violence, and mental health issues," claimed the Texas Almanac.

School	Number of Economically Disadvantaged Students	Total Number of Students
Lone Star Online Academy	1,645	2,444
Sweetwater High School	382	587
Sweetwater Middle School	320	478
Sweetwater Intermediate School	301	405
Southeast Elementary School	209	258
East Ridge Elementary School	201	254
Roscoe Elementary School	127	258
Roscoe Collegiate High School	115	272
Southeast Early Childhood Center	72	72
Blackwell School	61	155
Highland School	58	226
Roscoe Collegiate Montessori Early Childhood	52	107