West Pennyroyal News

The only school district in Monroe County had rising enrollment in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

There were 1,924 students in Monroe County School District, 1.8% higher than the year before.

Enrollment in Monroe County was steady with the state's trend of increasing enrollment.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2022-23 school year, 53.3% of them were boys, and 46.7% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 86.2% of Monroe County School District's total enrollment.

Monroe County School District has a main office in Tompkinsville and is the only school district within Monroe County.

According to a 2023 report from the Kentucky Research Commission, the state experienced a significant increase in teacher turnover rates, rising to 10.9% in 2023 from a nine-year average of 8.9%. This trend was more prominent in schools with more low-income and minority students.

The number of available teaching positions in Kentucky schools surged by 260% between 2019 and 2023. This often leads to larger class sizes, combining programs, and retaining staff despite potential negative impacts on teacher working conditions.

School	Total Enrollment in 2022-23	Total Enrollment in 2021-22	Total % Change
Monroe County High School	538	536	0.4%
Tompkinsville Elementary School	435	389	11.8%
Monroe County Middle School	397	417	-4.8%
Gamaliel Elementary School	300	294	2%
Joe Harrison Carter	270	268	0.7%