Panama City Reporter

There were 1,928 students enrolled in Gulf County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 0.1% less than the previous year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 77% of the student body, the biggest percentage in Gulf County schools, followed by 10.2% of Black students, 6.1% of multiracial students and 5.8% of Hispanic students.

Port St. Joe Elementary School registered the highest enrollment among Gulf County's five schools in the 2022-23 academic year, welcoming 534 students.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in a total of 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School name	Total Enrollment in 2021-22	Total Enrollment in 2022-23	% Change
Port St. Joe Elementary School	518	534	3.1
Port St. Joe High School	513	512	-0.2
Wewahitchka Elementary School	514	504	-1.9
Wewahitchka High School	373	363	-2.7
PreK Ese	12	15	25