McLean County Times

There were 3,052 Black students enrolled in McLean County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 13.6% of the 22,392 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the eight districts in McLean County, McLean County Unit School District 5 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,902 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with McLean County.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

District	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
McLean County Unit School District 5	15.4%	12,357
Bloomington School District 87	24.4%	4,610
Olympia Community Unit School District 16	0.9%	1,734
LeRoy Community Unit School District 2	1.3%	754