Laredo Times

There was one Black student enrolled in Zapata County schools in the 2022-23 school year, compared to none in the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Zapata County welcomed 3,376 students during the 2022-23 school year.

Zapata Middle School was the only school in the county to enroll a Black student, with just one student identified in the 2022-23 school year.

Texas is found to be one of the least-educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state's school districts. 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 said.

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Zapata High School	0	1,034
Zapata Middle School	0.1	784
Zapata North Elementary School	0	581
Zapata South Elementary School	0	467
Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary School	0	449
Benavides Elementary School	0	61