Panama City Reporter

There were 197 Black students enrolled in Gulf County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 2.5% decrease from the 202 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Gulf County welcomed a total of 1,928 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 10.2% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the five schools in Gulf County, Port St. Joe High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 56 students, making up 10.9% of the school's total student body.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in its 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	% of Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Port St. Joe Elementary School	4.7	534
Port St. Joe High School	10.9	512
Wewahitchka High School	3.6	363