There were 3,830 Black students enrolled in Bay County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 3.2% increase from the 3,710 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Data showed that Bay County welcomed a total of 27,343 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 14% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.
Among the 47 schools in Bay County, Rutherford High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 476 students, making up 33.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| A. Crawford Mosley High School | 8.7% | 1,838 |
| J. R. Arnold High School | 9.5% | 1,637 |
| Rutherford High School | 33.5% | 1,423 |
| Bay High School | 26.7% | 1,298 |
| Breakfast Point Academy | 8% | 1,044 |
| Tyndall Academy | 15.4% | 908 |
| North Bay Haven Career Academy | 6.5% | 882 |
| Surfside Middle School | 10.2% | 825 |
| Mowat Middle School | 16% | 818 |
| Bay Haven Charter Academy | 9.3% | 765 |
| Tommy Smith Elementary School | 6.8% | 731 |
| University Academy Sabl Inc. | 5.9% | 707 |
| Deer Point Elementary School | 6.1% | 707 |
| North Bay Haven Charter Academy Elementary School | 4.3% | 694 |
| Merritt Brown Middle School | 7.4% | 680 |
| Hiland Park Elementary School | 14.5% | 676 |
| Lynn Haven Elementary School | 9.2% | 676 |
| Patronis Elementary School | 8.8% | 634 |
| Hutchison Beach Elementary School | 17.1% | 585 |
| Jinks Middle School | 35.8% | 583 |
| Northside Elementary School | 18.4% | 561 |
| Cedar Grove Elementary School | 35.2% | 554 |
| Callaway Elementary School | 26.3% | 537 |
| North Bay Haven Charter Academy Middle School | 6.1% | 525 |
| Lucille Moore Elementary School | 28.6% | 524 |
| Parker Elementary School | 29.7% | 502 |
| Bay Haven Charter Middle School | 9.7% | 432 |
| A. Gary Walsingham Academy | 13.9% | 423 |
| Merriam Cherry Street Elementary School | 38.1% | 381 |
| West Bay Elementary School | 3.1% | 357 |
| Rosenwald High School | 25.6% | 324 |
| Palm Bay Elementary School | 28.7% | 317 |
| Rising Leaders Academy | 19.7% | 309 |
| Palm Bay Preparatory Academy 6-12 | 16.4% | 201 |
| Margaret K. Lewis in Millville | 18.3% | 169 |
| Central High School | 14.2% | 106 |
| New Horizons Learning Center | 27.5% | 91 |
| St. Andrew School at Oakland Terrace | 27.9% | 68 |
