Panhandle Times

There were four Pacific Islander students enrolled in Swisher County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 20% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Swisher County welcomed 1,445 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Pacific Islander students comprised 0.3% of the student body to be the second least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the seven schools in Swisher County, Kress Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Pacific Islander students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of two 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 Pacific Islander students enrolment	Total enrollment
Tulia Elementary School	0.2	408
Tulia High School	0	282
Tulia Junior High School	0	206
Kress High School	0.7	145
Happy Elementary School	0	139
Kress Elementary School	1.5	134
Happy High School	0	131