Abilene Times

There were 62 Black students enrolled in Jones County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 21.5% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Jones County welcomed 2,694 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 2.3% of the student body to be the fourth least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 13 schools in Jones County, Oliver Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 14 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.

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Hawley Elementary School	0.2	406
Anson Elementary School	1.4	368
Oliver Elementary School	4.6	303
Hamlin Collegiate Elementary School	5.2	232
Anson High School	1.8	217
Hawley High School	0.5	213
Hawley Middle School	0	200
Stamford High School	6.3	191
Hamlin Collegiate High School	4.3	186
Anson Middle School	0.6	167
Stamford Middle School	3.6	110
Lueders-Avoca Elementary/Junior High School	0	76
Lueders-Avoca High School	0	25