There were 23,956 students enrolled in Boone County schools in 2022-23 school year

There were 23,956 students enrolled in Boone County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 0.6% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Boys made up 51.5% of the county student body, while the other 48.5% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 73.8% of the student body, the largest percentage in Boone County schools, followed by 10.8% of Hispanic students, 7.3% of Black students and 5% of multiracial students.

Larry A. Ryle High School had the highest enrollment among Boone County’s 31 schools in the 2022-23 cycle, welcoming 2,108 students.

Despite escaping some of the pandemic’s educational disruptions, Kentucky’s achievement gaps have remained an issue since 2019. In the eighth-grade reading assessments, for example, Hispanic students scored eight points lower than their white peers, and the gap reached 15 points in math. Black students fared even worse, falling more than 20 points behind and facing a failure rate nearly double that of their white counterparts.

Kentucky is in the midst of a statewide teacher shortage as turnover rates spiked to 10.9% in 2023, up from an 8.9% nine-year average. This issue is more prominent in schools with more low-income and minority students.

Data also shows that between 2019 and 2023, there was an increase of 260% in the number of available teaching posts in Kentucky schools. This often leads to larger class sizes, combining programs, and retaining staff despite potential negative impacts on teacher working conditions.