South Georgia Times

The only school district in Lanier County faced declining enrollment in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

There were 1,608 students in the halls of Lanier County School District, 2.7% less than the year before.

Enrollment in Lanier County was steady compared to the state's trend of decreasing enrollment.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2022-23 school year, 50% of them were male, and 50% were female.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 59% of the Lanier County School District's total enrollment.

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

While enrollment in Georgia inches closer to pre-pandemic levels, chronic absenteeism remains a serious challenge. In 2023, a significant portion of students (23%) missed 10% or more of their classes. Although this is slightly better than the peak of 25% in 2022, it's still nearly double the pre-pandemic rate of 13% recorded in 2019.

District	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2021-22	Total % Change
Lanier County School District	1,608	1,652	2.7%