UP Gazette

There were 3,547 students enrolled in Menominee County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 4.5% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 52.8% of the county student body, while the other 47.2% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 79.7% of the student body, the highest percentage in Menominee County schools, followed by 7% American Indian, 4.3% Hispanic, 4.2% multiracial, 3.9% African American, 0.6% Asian and less than 0.1% Hawaiian students.

Uplift Michigan Academy had the highest enrollment among Menominee County's 17 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 559 students.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,427,386 students enrolled in Michigan schools, a figure 4.8% below the pre-pandemic total of 1,499,552 in 2019-20, with white students seeing the largest decline of approximately 3%.

Academic performance in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels. According to the 2024 NAEP results, the share of students reaching the basic benchmark in core subjects is about 10 percentage points lower than in 2019—except for fourth-grade math, which saw a decline of just 2 points.

Achievement gaps between ethnic groups also persist. On average, Hispanic students scored 15 points below white students. The gap was even wider for Black students, who scored about 30 points lower than their white peers.

The 2025 education budget, approved by Gov. Whitmer last July, totals $23.4 billion—$900 million less than the previous year’s budget. K-12 schools are working with $20.6 billion, a reduction from the $21.5 billion allocated in 2024.

Some school superintendents and educators were concerned about the new budget. "Schools cannot function properly without adequate funding for safety and mental health," stated Rep. David Martin, R-Davison, referring to a significant cut of around $301 million from school safety and mental health programs. Based on the current bill, the program will receive just $26.5 million.

School name	Total enrollment in 2023-24	Total enrollment in 2024-25	% change
Uplift Michigan Academy	645	559	-13.3%
Blesch Intermediate School	368	531	44.3%
Bark River-Harris Elementary School	411	410	-0.2%
Stephenson Area Public School	404	380	-5.9%
Menominee High School	337	352	4.5%
Bark River-Harris Junior-Senior High School	341	311	-8.8%
Menominee Junior High School	184	271	47.3%
Carney-Nadeau Public School	234	217	-7.3%
Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy	184	182	-1.1%
North Central Elementary School	125	123	-1.6%
North Central Area Senior High School	89	100	12.4%
North Central Middle School	72	61	-15.3%
Phoenix Alternative High School	44	37	-15.9%
Menominee ISD Special Education	12	13	8.3%
Central Elementary School	265	--	--