South Michigan News

There were 5,077 students enrolled in Hillsdale County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 3.8% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 51.8% of the county student body, while the other 48.2% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 92.6% of the student body, the highest percentage in Hillsdale County schools, followed by 3.2% Hispanic, 3.1% multiracial, 0.5% African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian and less than 0.1% Hawaiian students.

Williams Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Hillsdale County's 23 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 512 students.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,427,386 students enrolled in Michigan schools, a figure 4.8% below the pre-pandemic total of 1,499,552 in 2019-20, with white students seeing the largest decline of approximately 3%.

Academic performance in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels. According to the 2024 NAEP results, the share of students reaching the basic benchmark in core subjects is about 10 percentage points lower than in 2019—except for fourth-grade math, which saw a decline of just 2 points.

Achievement gaps between ethnic groups also persist. On average, Hispanic students scored 15 points below white students. The gap was even wider for Black students, who scored about 30 points lower than their white peers.

The 2025 education budget, approved by Gov. Whitmer last July, totals $23.4 billion—$900 million less than the previous year’s budget. K-12 schools are working with $20.6 billion, a reduction from the $21.5 billion allocated in 2024.

Some school superintendents and educators were concerned about the new budget. "Schools cannot function properly without adequate funding for safety and mental health," stated Rep. David Martin, R-Davison, referring to a significant cut of around $301 million from school safety and mental health programs. Based on the current bill, the program will receive just $26.5 million.

School name	Total enrollment in 2023-24	Total enrollment in 2024-25	% change
Williams Elementary School	557	512	-8.1%
Gier Elementary School	436	434	-0.5%
Camden-Frontier K-12 School	477	432	-9.4%
Reynolds Elementary School	398	404	1.5%
Hillsdale High School	385	370	-3.9%
Davis Middle School	368	366	-0.5%
Jonesville High School	339	309	-8.8%
Jonesville Middle School	300	297	-1%
Reading High School	303	286	-5.6%
Will Carleton Charter School Academy	282	281	-0.4%
Waldron Area Schools	222	205	-7.7%
Pittsford Area High School	218	203	-6.9%
Pittsford Area Elementary School	161	163	1.2%
North Adams-Jerome Middle-High School	181	163	-9.9%
Litchfield High School	135	143	5.9%
North Adams-Jerome Elementary School	167	138	-17.4%
Litchfield Elementary School	105	110	4.8%
Jonesville Pathways	74	62	-16.2%
Hillsdale Preparatory School	54	60	11.1%
Horizon Alternative School	36	55	52.8%
Greenfield School	49	50	2%
Bailey Early Childhood Center	30	34	13.3%