St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

There were 14,877 students enrolled in Van Buren County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 0.3% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 50.9% of the county student body, while the other 49.1% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 67.3% of the student body, the highest percentage in Van Buren County schools, followed by 21% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 4.5% African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% American Indian and less than 0.1% Hawaiian students.

Michigan Online School had the highest enrollment among Van Buren County's 45 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 1,269 students.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,427,386 students enrolled in Michigan schools, a figure 4.8% below the pre-pandemic total of 1,499,552 in 2019-20, with white students seeing the largest decline of approximately 3%.

Academic performance in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels. According to the 2024 NAEP results, the share of students reaching the basic benchmark in core subjects is about 10 percentage points lower than in 2019—except for fourth-grade math, which saw a decline of just 2 points.

Achievement gaps between ethnic groups also persist. On average, Hispanic students scored 15 points below white students. The gap was even wider for Black students, who scored about 30 points lower than their white peers.

The 2025 education budget, approved by Gov. Whitmer last July, totals $23.4 billion—$900 million less than the previous year’s budget. K-12 schools are working with $20.6 billion, a reduction from the $21.5 billion allocated in 2024.

Some school superintendents and educators were concerned about the new budget. "Schools cannot function properly without adequate funding for safety and mental health," stated Rep. David Martin, R-Davison, referring to a significant cut of around $301 million from school safety and mental health programs. Based on the current bill, the program will receive just $26.5 million.

School name	Total enrollment in 2023-24	Total enrollment in 2024-25	% change
Michigan Online School	1,236	1,269	2.7%
Mattawan High School	1,125	1,126	0.1%
Mattawan Middle School	833	823	-1.2%
Mattawan Later Elementary School	812	808	-0.5%
Mattawan Early Elementary School	696	703	1%
Paw Paw High School	665	638	-4.1%
South Haven High School	569	588	3.3%
Bloomingdale Middle and High School	563	516	-8.3%
Redwood Elementary School	528	516	-2.3%
Paw Paw Middle School	461	498	8%
Paw Paw Early Elementary School	482	481	-0.2%
Paw Paw Later Elementary School	447	453	1.3%
Decatur Junior Senior High School	403	399	-1%
Lawton Elementary School	398	397	-0.3%
Gobles High School	383	396	3.4%
Hartford High School	385	379	-1.6%
Davis Elementary School	349	356	2%
Gobles Elementary School	374	355	-5.1%
South Walnut Elementary School	341	341	0%
Lawton Middle School	313	325	3.8%
Hartford Middle School	314	321	2.2%
Maple Grove Elementary School	290	300	3.4%
Lawton High School	292	279	-4.5%
Bangor Middle School	294	272	-7.5%
Bloomingdale Elementary School	287	272	-5.2%
Bangor High School	277	264	-4.7%
Lincoln School	227	251	10.6%
Lawrence Elementary School	225	214	-4.9%
Lawrence Junior-Senior High School	190	179	-5.8%
Sister Lakes Elementary School	168	166	-1.2%
Covert Elementary School	155	144	-7.1%
Hartford Alternative Education	122	122	0%
Covert High School	116	101	-12.9%
Mattawan Early Childhood Education Center	87	85	-2.3%
Bert Goens Learning Center	81	79	-2.5%
Covert Middle School	73	79	8.2%
Cedar Street Community and Family Center	80	76	-5%
Bangor Career Academy	60	74	23.3%
Community-Based Transition Center	70	70	0%
WAY South Haven	29	44	51.7%
Gobles Virtual Academy	32	35	9.4%
Behavioral Education Center	32	33	3.1%
Lawton Accelerated Academic Center	37	26	-29.7%
Wood School Bangor Township 8	25	24	-4%