Emerald Coast Times

There were 563 Black students enrolled in Walton County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 4.6% increase from the 538 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Walton County welcomed a total of 11,637 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 4.8% of the student body to be the third least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 20 schools in Walton County, Maude Saunders Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 83 students, making up 14.8% 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 Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Freeport Elementary School	2.8%	1,161
South Walton High School	1.8%	1,112
Van R. Butler Elementary School	3.2%	950
Dune Lakes Elementary School	2.3%	919
Walton High School	9.1%	898
Emerald Coast Middle School	3.6%	872
Paxton School	2.6%	795
Walton Middle School	6.8%	775
West Defuniak Elementary School	9.6%	699
Freeport Middle School	3.2%	678
Freeport Senior High School	2.1%	677
Maude Saunders Elementary School	14.8%	561
Mossy Head School	3.2%	504
Walton Initiative for Success in Education (Wise)	10.5%	247
Walton Academy Inc.	11.2%	170
Walton Learning Center	76.5%	34