Emerald Coast Times

There were 2,740 Hispanic students enrolled in Santa Rosa County's only school district in the 2023-24 school year, a 4.5% decrease from the 2,870 Hispanic students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Santa Rosa County welcomed a total of 29,824 students at the time. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 9.2% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county. The most represented ethnicity was white, accounting for 74.2% of the students (22,142).

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.

According to the National Education Association (NEA), Florida ranks 50th in the U.S. in terms of teacher salaries, only ahead of West Virginia.

District	No. of Hispanic Students	Total District Enrollment	% of Total Enrollment
Santa Rosa County School District	2,740	29,824	9.2%