East Pennyroyal News

There were 19 Asian students enrolled in Marion County School District schools in the 2022-23 school year, 13.6% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Data showed that Marion County School District welcomed 3,447 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Asian students comprised 0.6% of the student body to be the second least represented ethnicity in the district.

Marion County School District roughly covers eight schools within Marion County and has a main office in Lebanon.

Among the eight schools in Marion County School District, Marion County Middle School and Marion County High School recorded the highest enrollment of Asian students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of five students.

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.

Year	Total District Enrollment	Total Asian Students	Asian %
2022-23	3,447	19	0.6%
2021-22	3,447	22	0.6%
2020-21	3,400	23	0.7%
2019-20	3,407	26	0.8%