Emerald Coast Times

There were 8,138 white students enrolled in Walton County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 1.7% decrease from the 8,278 white 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, white students comprised 69.9% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 20 schools in Walton County, South Walton High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 843 students, making up 75.8% 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 white Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Freeport Elementary School	69.9%	1,161
South Walton High School	75.8%	1,112
Van R. Butler Elementary School	68.3%	950
Dune Lakes Elementary School	69.4%	919
Walton High School	64.5%	898
Emerald Coast Middle School	68.9%	872
Paxton School	87.9%	795
Walton Middle School	64.6%	775
West Defuniak Elementary School	59.8%	699
Freeport Middle School	67.4%	678
Freeport Senior High School	75.5%	677
Maude Saunders Elementary School	58.1%	561
Mossy Head School	69.2%	504
Seaside Neighborhood School	85.2%	440
Walton Initiative for Success in Education (Wise)	66.4%	247
Walton Academy Inc.	65.9%	170
Bay School	67.7%	124
Walton Virtual Franchise	95.2%	21