Panama City Reporter

There were 16,979 white students enrolled in Bay County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 0.8% decrease from the 17,113 white 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, white students comprised 62.1% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 47 schools in Bay County, Deane Bozeman School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,486 students, making up 90.2% 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
A. Crawford Mosley High School	71.8%	1,838
Deane Bozeman School	90.2%	1,648
J. R. Arnold High School	67.1%	1,637
Rutherford High School	35.8%	1,423
Bay High School	45.2%	1,298
Breakfast Point Academy	66.9%	1,044
Tyndall Academy	56.3%	908
North Bay Haven Career Academy	71.3%	882
Surfside Middle School	64.5%	825
Mowat Middle School	59.9%	818
Bay Haven Charter Academy	66.7%	765
Tommy Smith Elementary School	69.9%	731
University Academy Sabl Inc.	80.1%	707
Deer Point Elementary School	74.4%	707
North Bay Haven Charter Academy Elementary School	72.2%	694
Merritt Brown Middle School	76.9%	680
Hiland Park Elementary School	53.6%	676
Lynn Haven Elementary School	75.1%	676
Patronis Elementary School	67.8%	634
Hutchison Beach Elementary School	57.4%	585
Jinks Middle School	34.1%	583
Northside Elementary School	51.9%	561
Cedar Grove Elementary School	32.9%	554
Callaway Elementary School	44.7%	537
North Bay Haven Charter Academy Middle School	65.9%	525
Lucille Moore Elementary School	24.8%	524
Southport Elementary School	89.3%	503
Parker Elementary School	38%	502
Bay Haven Charter Middle School	67.4%	432
A. Gary Walsingham Academy	58.2%	423
Waller Elementary School	88.1%	420
Merriam Cherry Street Elementary School	39.1%	381
West Bay Elementary School	70.6%	357
Rosenwald High School	56.8%	324
Palm Bay Elementary School	34.1%	317
Rising Leaders Academy	53.1%	309
Palm Bay Preparatory Academy 6-12	43.8%	201
Margaret K. Lewis in Millville	61.5%	169
Central High School	60.4%	106
Bay Virtual Instruction Program	75.8%	91
New Horizons Learning Center	57.1%	91
Amikids Maritime Academy	85.2%	88
St. Andrew School at Oakland Terrace	50%	68
Chautauqua Charter School	70.2%	47
Bay Regional Juvenile Detention Center	50%	28
Bay Virtual Franchise	76.9%	26