Panama City Reporter

There were 4,027 Black students enrolled in Bay County's only school district in the 2023-24 school year, a 4.5% increase over the 3,855 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Bay County welcomed a total of 27,675 students at the time. Among them, Black students comprised 14.6% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county. The most represented ethnicity was white, accounting for 61.6% of the students (17,050).

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 Black Students	Total District Enrollment	% of Total Enrollment
Bay District Schools	4,027	27,675	14.6%