Tyler Reporter

There were three Pacific Islander students enrolled in Cherokee County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 66.7% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Cherokee County welcomed 11,160 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Pacific Islander students comprised 0% of the student body to be the least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 24 schools in Cherokee County, Bullard Intermediate School, East Side Elementary School, and Jacksonville High School recorded the highest enrollment of Pacific Islander student in the 2022-23 school year.

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 Pacific Islander students enrolment	Total enrollment
Jacksonville High School	0.1	1,331
Bullard High School	0	848
Jacksonville Middle School	0	711
Nichols Intermediate School	0	666
Fred Douglass	0	623
East Side Elementary School	0.2	615
Rusk High School	0	610
Joe Wright Elementary School	0	542
New Summerfield School	0	515
Rusk Junior High School	0	478
Bullard Middle School	0	459
Bullard Intermediate School	0.2	435
Bullard Elementary School	0	434
West Side Elementary School	0	404
Bullard Primary School	0	401
G.W. Bradford Primary School	0	376
Bullard Early Childhood	0	309
Rusk Intermediate School	0	303
Rusk Elementary School	0	288
Wells School	0	259
Alto Elementary School	0	208
Alto Middle School	0	167
Alto High School	0	161
Compass Center	0	17