North Michigan News

There were 3,499 students enrolled in Iosco County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 2.2% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 50.5% of the county student body, while the other 49.5% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 87.5% of the student body, the highest percentage in Iosco County schools, followed by 5.6% Hispanic, 4.8% multiracial, 1.3% African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% American Indian and 0.2% Hawaiian students.

Richardson Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Iosco County's 11 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 711 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
Richardson Elementary School	722	711	-1.5%
Oscoda Area High School	485	488	0.6%
Clara B. Bolen Elementary School	436	433	-0.7%
Tawas Area High School	348	351	0.9%
Hale Area School	359	347	-3.3%
Whittemore-Prescott Area Elementary School	357	347	-2.8%
Tawas Area Middle School	354	340	-4%
Whittemore-Prescott Junior-Senior High School	285	260	-8.8%
Alternative Educational Academy of Iosco County	188	172	-8.5%
Iosco RESA Special Education	42	50	19%