Among the many ethnicities represented in Ross County schools, non-Hispanic white was the most prevalent among the county students in the 2024-25 school year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.
Of the 9,288 students attending Ross County schools, 86.8% were non-Hispanic white. Multiracial students were the second most common ethnicity, making up 7.3% of Ross County student body.
In the previous school year, non-Hispanic white students were also the most common group in Ross County, representing 87.2% of the student body.
In the 2024-25 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 3% when compared to the previous year.
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.
| School name | Most prevalent ethnic group | % of Total Student Population | Total enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckskin Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 97% | 202 |
| Southeastern High School | Non-Hispanic White | 96.6% | 236 |
| Paint Valley Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 95.8% | 166 |
| Huntington High School | Non-Hispanic White | 95.1% | 245 |
| Zane Trace Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 94.8% | 387 |
| Huntington Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 94.6% | 404 |
| Paint Valley Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 94.6% | 372 |
| Huntington Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 94.2% | 309 |
| Zane Trace Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 94.1% | 473 |
| Paint Valley High School | Non-Hispanic White | 94% | 168 |
| Zane Trace High School | Non-Hispanic White | 93.5% | 275 |
| Southeastern Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 93.2% | 278 |
| Southeastern Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 92.9% | 380 |
| Adena Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 92.8% | 265 |
| Adena High School | Non-Hispanic White | 90.5% | 253 |
| Adena Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 90.4% | 529 |
| Unioto Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 88.3% | 486 |
| Unioto High School | Non-Hispanic White | 87.6% | 474 |
| Unioto Elementary School | Non-Hispanic White | 83.5% | 1,034 |
| Chillicothe Middle School | Non-Hispanic White | 76.5% | 392 |
| Chillicothe High School | Non-Hispanic White | 76.1% | 681 |
| Chillicothe Primary School | Non-Hispanic White | 71.3% | 561 |
| Chillicothe Intermediate School | Non-Hispanic White | 70.2% | 718 |
Information in this article was obtained from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce. The source data can be found here.