East Pennyroyal News

Wayne County High School had the highest enrollment among Wayne County schools, welcoming 967 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 51% of them were girls, and 49% were boys.

Data also showed that the majority of students were white, making up 83.4% of Wayne County High School's total enrollment.

Among the eight schools in Wayne County, Wayne County Middle School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 681 students, while Monticello Elementary School welcomed 680 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Wayne County High School is part of Wayne County School District, which roughly covers schools within Wayne County and has a main office in Monticello.

In the previous school year, Wayne County High School also had the highest number of students among Wayne County schools.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, 13% of teacher vacancies in the state remained unfilled throughout the 2023-24 school year.

District leaders also raised concerns about applicant quality, with 49% saying candidates were similar to the previous year and 42% saying they were of lower quality.

Currently, after adjusting for inflation, the average teacher salary in Kentucky is nearly 20% lower than in 2008. State data shows teachers earn about $14,000 less in real terms.

School name	City	Total School Enrollment
Wayne County High School	Monticello	967
Wayne County Middle School	Monticello	681
Monticello Elementary School	Monticello	680
Bell Elementary School	Monticello	466
Walker Early Learning Center	Monticello	395
Lake Cumberland Youth Development Center	Monticello	80
Wayne County Learning Academy	Monticello	73
Otter Creek Academy	Monticello	59