East Pennyroyal News

There were 37 African American students enrolled in Taylor County School District schools in the 2022-23 school year, 7.5% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Data showed that Taylor County School District welcomed 2,901 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 1.3% of the student body to be the third least represented ethnicity in the district.

Taylor County School District roughly covers five schools within Taylor County and has a main office in Campbellsville.

Among the five schools in Taylor County School District, Taylor County High School and Taylor County Middle School recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 12 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 African American Students	African American %
2022-23	2,901	37	1.3%
2021-22	2,905	40	1.4%
2020-21	2,819	39	1.4%
2019-20	2,877	54	1.9%