Panhandle Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Carson County schools, welcoming 293 students during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 51.9% of them were boys, and 48.1% were girls.
Data also showed that the majority of students identified themselves as white, representing 80.2% of the total enrollment in Panhandle Elementary School.
Among the six schools in Carson County, Panhandle High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 199 students, while White Deer Elementary School welcomed 158 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.
Panhandle Elementary School is a part of Panhandle ISD, which roughly covers schools within Carson County with its main office in Panhandle.
In the previous school year, Panhandle Elementary School also had the highest number of students among Carson County schools.
A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.
Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state’s school districts. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.
“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock stated in an interview.
| School Name | City | Total School Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Panhandle Elementary School | Panhandle | 293 |
| Panhandle High School | Panhandle | 199 |
| White Deer Elementary School | White Deer | 158 |
| White Deer High School | White Deer | 156 |
| Groom School | Groom | 135 |
| Panhandle Junior High School | Panhandle | 133 |
