North Coastal News

There were 635 Black students enrolled in Matagorda County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 1.4% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Matagorda County welcomed 7,084 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 9% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 18 schools in Matagorda County, Bay City High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 128 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
Bay City High School	12.4	1,031
Bay City Junior High School	15.2	789
Tenie Holmes Elementary School	14.4	780
Roberts Elementary School	15.8	513
Cherry Elementary School	15.7	466
Palacios High School	1.3	383
Van Vleck High School	10.1	355
Central Elementary School	0.9	349
Van Vleck Elementary School	5	303
Palacios Junior High School	0.7	293
Blessing Elementary School	0	284
East Side Intermediate School	0.7	275
Tidehaven High School	2.6	274
Markham Elementary School	5.5	254
Van Vleck Junior High School	7	243
Tidehaven Intermediate School	2.1	233
Van Vleck Intermediate School	8.8	170
Matagorda School	0	89