Which Jones County school enrolled most students in 2023-24 school year?

Hawley Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Jones County schools, welcoming 406 students during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 53.9% of them were boys, and 46.1% were girls.

Data also showed that the majority of students identified themselves as white, representing 70.7% of the total enrollment in Hawley Elementary School.

Among the 13 schools in Jones County, Anson Elementary School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 366 students, while Oliver Elementary School welcomed 302 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Hawley Elementary School is a part of Hawley ISD, which roughly covers schools within Jones County with its main office in Hawley.

In the previous school year, Hawley Elementary School also had the highest number of students among Jones County schools.

A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state’s school districts. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, 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 stated in an interview.