Nonwhite students outnumber white students in Oklahoma

White students are now a minority in Oklahoma public schools, according to the latest enrollment figures released Thursday by the state.

A total of 693,710 students attend Oklahoma public schools, based on enrollment data reported by districts earlier in the school year. Nonwhite students account for 50.6 percent of the total enrollment, collectively making up the majority for the first time in state history.

White students remain the state’s largest single ethnicity, followed by Hispanic (17 percent), Native American (14 percent) and black (9 percent) students.

Overall, the white student population declined by nearly 4,000 students from the 2015-16 school year. Hispanic enrollment increased by a little more than 4,000.

The new enrollment numbers show Oklahoma City Public Schools remains the state’s largest district with 45,757 students, followed by Tulsa, Edmond and Moore public schools.

Overall, the state saw an increase of 1,040 in students from the previous year.

The growth comes at a time when education officials say they are not seeing funding levels keep pace with more students. Oklahoma leads all other states in cuts to education since 2008, according to a 2016 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

When adjusted for inflation and student enrollment, the report showed Oklahoma had cut general education funding by 27 percent, more than double the cut rate of the second worst state.

Some lawmakers have countered that narrative by saying the total money given to schools has increased, yet per pupil funding has declined as the state has seen more than 50,000 students enter the system over the last eight years.

“Oklahoma schools are educating more students than ever before,” state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said in a statement. “Over the past decade, student enrollment has risen steadily, as have funding challenges. We must do everything we can to maximize our resources in order to serve a growing and increasingly diverse group of Oklahoma schoolchildren.”