SE Texas Times

There were 30 American Indian students enrolled in Hardin County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 16.7% less than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Hardin County welcomed 10,764 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, American Indian students comprised 0.3% of the student body to be the second least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 18 schools in Hardin County, Lumberton Middle School recorded the highest enrollment of American Indian students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of seven students.

Texas is found to be one of the least-educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state's school districts. Per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.

“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock said.

School name	% of American Indian students enrolment	Total enrollment
Lumberton High School	0.3	1,229
Silsbee Elementary School	0.2	1,017
Lumberton Primary School	0.5	982
Lumberton Middle School	0.7	969
Silsbee High School	0.5	814
Sour Lake Elementary School	0.1	767
Hardin-Jefferson High School	0.1	749
Edwards-Johnson Memorial Middle School	0	633
Lumberton Intermediate School	0.5	622
Henderson Middle School	0	617
Lumberton Early Childhood School	0.3	392
Kountze High School	0.6	327
Kountze Elementary School	0	313
Laura Reeves Primary School	0	308
West Hardin Elementary School	0	281
West Hardin High School	0	270
Kountze Intermediate School	0	243
Kountze Middle School	0	231