Emerald Coast Times

There were 20,063 white students enrolled in Okaloosa County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 3.7% decrease from the 20,835 white students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Okaloosa County welcomed a total of 32,415 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 61.9% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 50 schools in Okaloosa County, Niceville Senior High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,520 students, making up 76.1% of the school's total student body.

Gov. DeSantis has approved an education budget of over $28 billion for the 2024-25 school year. The new budget includes more than $1 billion earmarked exclusively for teacher salaries to better address the teacher shortage the state faces.

A 2024 WalletHub study ranked Florida 49th in the nation for teacher salaries when adjusted for cost of living, making it one of the lowest in the U.S.

School name	% of white Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Crestview High School	60.9%	2,397
Niceville Senior High School	76.1%	1,998
Choctawhatchee Senior High School	54.4%	1,701
Fort Walton Beach High School	53.5%	1,558
Baker School	89.7%	1,461
Davidson Middle School	70.5%	1,154
C. W. Ruckel Middle School	76.5%	1,054
Riverside Elementary School	54.1%	991
Liza Jackson Preparatory School	69.3%	977
Antioch Elementary School	57.5%	965
Destin Elementary School	66.1%	933
Bluewater Elementary School	80.9%	914
Shoal River Middle School	53.2%	895
Destin Middle School	71%	851
Walker Elementary School	65.2%	848
Northwood Elementary School	60.7%	840
James E. Plew Elementary School	76.2%	820
Bob Sikes Elementary School	67%	813
Max Bruner Junior Middle School	42.8%	739
W. C. Pryor Middle School	35.8%	679
Addie R. Lewis School	61.7%	677
Elliott Point Elementary School	45.8%	598
Wright Elementary School	25.8%	590
Shalimar Elementary School	54.5%	589
Okaloosa Online Non Franchised	64.7%	589
Longwood Elementary School	28.6%	574
Clifford Meigs Middle School	64.5%	558
Destin High School	76.5%	557
Lula J. Edge Elementary School	71.5%	543
Florosa Elementary School	51%	531
Kenwood Elementary School	52.6%	525
Annette P. Edwins Elementary School	45.7%	464
Laurel Hill School	77.3%	463
Mary Esther Elementary School	40.5%	444
Eglin Elementary School	43.4%	429
Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College	66.2%	423
Okaloosa Stemm Center	66%	359
Southside Primary School	60.7%	267
Okaloosa Academy	40.8%	157
Northwest Florida Ballet Academie	70.8%	137
Silver Sands-Excep. Children	55.7%	106
Richbourg School	70.6%	68
Okaloosa Technical College	67.4%	43
Okaloosa Youth Academy	51.3%	39
Okaloosa Regional Detention	54.5%	33
Emerald Coast Career Institute N	56.7%	30