Pacific students made up 0.1% of Smith County’s student body in the 2024-25 school year

There were 26 Pacific Islander students enrolled in Smith County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 7.1% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Smith County welcomed 37,131 students during the 2024-25 school year. Among them, Pacific Islander students comprised 0.1% of the student body to be the least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 61 schools in Smith County, E. J. Moss Intermediate School, Mozelle Brown Elementary School, and UT Tyler University Academy at Tyler recorded the highest enrollment of Pacific Islander students, with a total of three.

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 Texas’ 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.

Information in this article was obtained from the Texas Education Agency. The source data can be found here.