15,700 Black students enrolled in St. Clair County districts in 2023-24 school year

Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

By S. M. Pollard

Sep 24, 2025

There were 15,700 Black students enrolled in St. Clair County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 41.4% of the 37,909 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the 27 districts in St. Clair County, East St. Louis School District 189 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 4,370 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with St. Clair County.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

Ethnic Composition of St. Clair County School Districts Enrollment (2023-24)

Enrollment Demographics in St. Clair County Districts During 2023-24 School Year

District	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
East St. Louis School District 189	96.3%	4,536
Cahokia Community Unit School District 187	89.6%	3,021
Belleville Township High School District 201	47.2%	4,676
Belleville School District 118	50.3%	3,303
O'Fallon Community Consolidated School District 90	18%	3,952
Whiteside School District 115	56.7%	1,158
Belle Valley School District 119	60.9%	961
O'Fallon Township High School District 203	21.7%	2,510
Mascoutah Community Unit School District 19	9.6%	4,177
Harmony Emge School District 175	46.7%	677
Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105	43.3%	607
Grant Community Consolidated School District 110	39.1%	568
Central School District 104	31.5%	622
Wolf Branch School District 113	20.4%	779
Signal Hill School District 181	47.5%	280
Brooklyn Community Unit School District 188	98.4%	128
Shiloh Village School District 85	23.1%	545
High Mount School District 116	36.9%	320
Lebanon Community Unit School District 9	14.2%	514
Dupo Community Unit School District 196	7.8%	881
Millstadt Consolidated Community School District 160	2.9%	684
Smithton Community Consolidated School District 130	2.4%	541
Freeburg Community Consolidated School District 70	1.4%	780
Marissa Community Unit School District 40	2.3%	487