North Michigan News

There were 4,096 students enrolled in Emmet County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 0.1% more than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 52.2% of the county student body, while the other 47.8% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 85.5% of the student body, the highest percentage in Emmet County schools, followed by 8.3% multiracial, 2.7% American Indian, 2.4% Hispanic, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% African American and less than 0.1% Hawaiian students.

Petoskey High School had the highest enrollment among Emmet County's 16 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 862 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
Petoskey High School	861	862	0.1%
Petoskey Middle School	571	561	-1.8%
Harbor Springs High School	231	260	12.6%
Blackbird Elementary School	163	258	58.3%
Pellston Middle/High School	256	258	0.8%
Sheridan School	259	252	-2.7%
Ottawa Elementary School	242	250	3.3%
Lincoln School	225	237	5.3%
Central Elementary School	235	234	-0.4%
Harbor Springs Middle School	312	233	-25.3%
Alanson Public School	229	223	-2.6%
Pellston Elementary School	206	220	6.8%
Mackinaw City K-12 School	136	147	8.1%
Concord Academy Petoskey	144	101	-29.9%
Petoskey Montessori Elementary School	20	--	--