West Texas News

There were 57 Black students enrolled in Mitchell County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 17.4% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Mitchell County welcomed 1,344 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 4.2% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the five schools in Mitchell County, Colorado Elementary and Middle School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 36 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
Colorado Elementary and Middle School	5.1	708
Westbrook School	0.8	255
Colorado High School	4.8	227
Loraine School	4.3	140
Wallace Accelerated High School	14.3	14