Paulding County: non-Hispanic white students were most represented ethnicity in 2024-25 school year

Among the many ethnicities represented in Paulding 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 2,794 students attending Paulding County schools, 88.7% were non-Hispanic white. Hispanic students were the second most common ethnicity, making up 7.4% of Paulding County student body.

In the previous school year, non-Hispanic white students were also the most common group in Paulding County, representing 90% of the student body.

In the 2024-25 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 2.1% 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.

Information in this article was obtained from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce. The source data can be found here.