Panhandle Times

There were 22 Black students enrolled in Wheeler County schools in the 2022-23 school year, the same number as in the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Wheeler County welcomed 1,053 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 2.1% of the student body to be the fourth least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the six schools in Wheeler County, Shamrock High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of eight 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
Wheeler School	0	387
Shamrock Elementary School	2.8	176
Fort Elliott School	0	153
Kelton School	4.6	153
Shamrock High School	7.2	111
Shamrock Middle School	2.7	73