Corpus Christi Sun

There were 32 Black students enrolled in Jim Wells County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 33.3% more than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Jim Wells County welcomed 7,597 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 0.4% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 15 schools in Jim Wells County, Alice High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 11 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
Alice High School	0.9	1,290
Adams Middle School	0.5	1,029
Noonan Elementary School	0.3	572
Orange Grove High School	0.5	558
Schallert Elementary School	0.4	546
Dubose Elementary School	0.7	536
Saenz Elementary School	0.4	533
Orange Grove Primary School	0	443
Orange Grove Junior High School	0	396
Premont Ernest High Singleton Early College Academy	0	379
Premont Collegiate High School	0.3	361
Orange Grove Elementary School	0	358
Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Elementary School	0.4	266
Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School	0.4	228
La Gloria Elementary School	0	102