Education Summary

The education landscape in Orange County has been impacted by the continued decline in the number of student-age residents, the economic recession, the 2% tax cap law enacted by New York State beginning in 2013, and the introduction of the Common Core Curriculum into classrooms in the 2012–2013 school year. Nevertheless, it is apparent that school districts continued to focus on improvement in performance.

Enrollment in Orange County’s 17 public school districts and BOCES declined by 16.6% between the 2003 and 2024 school years, and private enrollments increased 94.1% from 2004. The largest growth in private schools is affiliated with Judaism. Home school students jumped by 165% in Orange County from 2009 to 2025. The number of students enrolled in kindergarten dropped from 4,478 in 2005 to 3,650 in 2024, an 18.5% decrease.

The trend toward greater numbers of Hispanic students continued. Despite this shift, the percentage of students with limited proficiency in English remained below 10% except in Middletown (15%), Monroe-Woodbury (11%), Newburgh (18%), and Kiryas Joel (85%). The percentage of students aged 6-12 diagnosed with at least one disability grew, from 11.4% in the 2003–2004 year to 22% in 2023–2024.

The percentage of students who are eligible for free lunch and reduced-price lunch programs increased. Free lunches were provided to 38% of Orange County students in the 2023-2024 school year.

Overall, school attendance rates declined from 2004 to 2025, with exceptions in Middletown, Kiryas Joel, Cornwall, and Highland Falls. Chronic absenteeism in Orange County stands at a rate of 23.8%. Dropout rates improved in Orange County. Of Orange County’s 17 school districts, only three reported improved attendance between 2004 and 2024. Despite the slight overall declines, all schools had attendance rates of 91% and above in the 2023-2024 school year.

Eighth-grade class sizes decreased between 2005 and 2024. All school districts in the County in 2024 had a higher graduation rate of students who attended high school in four consecutive years in 2024 than in 2006, except for Florida, Highland Falls, and Monroe-Woodbury, all of which remained flat.

The median salary of public school teachers increased by an average of 72.1% in Orange County between the school years ending in 2005 and 2024. In Orange County school districts at the end of the 2024 school year, the average median salary for a teacher was $98,636, with the lowest salary at $79,263 and the highest at $128,823.

In 2013, New York State initiated a Fiscal Stress Monitoring System to identify school districts with financial vulnerabilities. In 2024, the Kiryas Joel School District was identified as being in moderate fiscal distress. Both the Middletown and Pine Bush School Districts are considered to be susceptible to fiscal distress.

In this report, we have included statistics about Orange-Ulster BOCES when available. BOCES provides education services to children with severe disabilities and Career & Technical Education programs (CTE). Students who attend BOCES are counted by their home school districts in total enrollments.