Hopkinsville Times

There were 8,213 students enrolled in Franklin County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.2% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Boys made up 53.6% of the county student body, while the other 46.4% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 68% of the student body, the largest percentage in Franklin County schools, followed by 11.8% of Black students, 9.9% of Hispanic students and 8.2% of multiracial students.

Franklin County High School had the highest enrollment among Franklin County’s 18 schools in the 2022-23 cycle, welcoming 1,041 students.

Despite escaping some of the pandemic's educational disruptions, Kentucky's achievement gaps have remained an issue since 2019. In the eighth-grade reading assessments, for example, Hispanic students scored eight points lower than their white peers, and the gap reached 15 points in math. Black students fared even worse, falling more than 20 points behind and facing a failure rate nearly double that of their white counterparts.

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.

School Name	Total Enrollment in 2022	Total Enrollment in 2023	% change
Franklin County High School	1,066	1,041	-2.4%
Western Hills High School	903	887	-1.8%
Elkhorn Middle School	821	797	-3%
Bondurant Middle School	710	699	-1.6%
Second Street School	654	618	-5.8%
Collins Lane	533	555	4.1%
Peaks Mill Elementary School	463	442	-4.8%
Bridgeport Elementary School	454	440	-3.2%
Elkhorn Elementary School	430	435	1.2%
Hearn Elementary School	424	434	2.4%
Early Learning Village	426	424	-0.5%
Westridge Elementary School	399	409	2.5%
Frankfort High School	330	342	3.6%
Future Forward Education & Career Center	265	290	9.4%
The Academy	130	149	14.6%
William Cofield High School	101	141	39.6%
Frankfort Early Learning Academy	75	72	-4.2%
Panther Transition Academy	37	38	2.7%