Lima Reporter

There were 7,585 students enrolled in Mercer County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.3% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Boys made up 51.9% of the county's student body, while the other 48.1% were girls.

Data also showed that white, Non-Hispanic students made up 92.7% of the student body, the largest percentage in Mercer County schools, followed by Asian or Pacific Islander students with 2.1%, 1.2% Hispanic students and 1.1% multiracial students.

Celina High School had the highest enrollment among Mercer County's 19 schools in the 2023-24 cycle, welcoming 735 students.

In 2022, Ohio saw an average student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 1:15, which is an improvement for the state and is lower than the national average of 1:16.

Despite the apparent improvement, this positive trend is overshadowed by a general decline in public school enrollments, which was accelerated by the pandemic. This decline, aligned with the steady number of teachers in the state over the last 10 years, has led to low student-to-teacher ratios.

School name	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
Celina High School	763	735	-3.7
Marion Local Elementary School	661	673	1.8
Coldwater Elementary School	609	634	4.1
Celina Primary School	526	532	1.1
Fort Recovery Elementary School	510	512	0.4
St. Henry Elementary School	442	470	6.3
Coldwater Middle School	387	425	9.8
Parkway Elementary School	398	404	1.5
Celina Middle School	411	370	-10
Celina Elementary School	350	348	-0.6
Celina Intermediate Elementary School	339	344	1.5
Coldwater High School	346	332	-4
Parkway Middle School	292	293	0.3
St. Henry Middle School	273	287	5.1
Fort Recovery High School	275	273	-0.7
Parkway High School	277	272	-1.8
St. Henry High School	272	257	-5.5
Marion Local High School	246	237	-3.7
Fort Recovery Middle School	187	187	0