Forest Country News

There were 129 Black students enrolled in Sabine County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 1.6% more than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Sabine County welcomed 1,789 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 7.2% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the seven schools in Sabine County, Hemphill High School, West Sabine Elementary School, and West Sabine High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 28 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 Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Hemphill Elementary School	6	334
West Sabine Elementary School	9.2	305
West Sabine High School	9.2	303
Hemphill High School	11	254
Hemphill Middle School	8.3	252
Brookeland High School	1.1	179
Brookeland Elementary School	1.2	162