Enrollment Analysis: Black students comprised 1% of Hardin County’s student body in 2024-25 school year

There were 40 Black students enrolled in Hardin County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 4.8% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Data showed that Hardin County welcomed 3,825 students during the year. Among them, Black students comprised 1% of the student body to be the least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 13 schools in Hardin County, Ada High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2024-25 school year, with a total of 15 students.

Public school enrollment in Ohio fell to 1.47 million students in fiscal year 2025, down 1%, marking the largest drop since fiscal year 2022.

According to a report from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, enrollment fell most sharply in rural and small-town districts. In contrast, joint vocational districts recorded growth, with chartered nonpublic schools recording the largest enrollment increases.

According to an analysis by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Ohio students have not fully recovered from pandemic-related learning losses. In the 2024-25 school year, about 55.3% of students were proficient in math and 60% in reading, both several points below 2018-19 levels.

Ohio ranks 23rd nationally in K-12 school expenditures, with public schools spending $16,687 per pupil for a total of $28.05 billion annually. Overall, costs exceed available funding by nearly $460 million.