Okeechobee Times

There were 3,322 white students enrolled in Hendry County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 3.6% decrease from the 3,445 white students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Hendry County welcomed a total of 13,354 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 24.9% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 13 schools in Hendry County, Digital Academy of Florida recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,867 students, making up 31.8% 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
Digital Academy of Florida	31.8%	5,880
Labelle High School	21.4%	1,415
Clewiston High School	18.5%	978
Country Oaks Elementary School	19.7%	908
Labelle Middle School	18.7%	841
Clewiston Middle School	15%	635
Central Elementary School	22.4%	602
Eastside Elementary School	14.7%	552
Edward A. Upthegrove Elementary School	21.7%	525
Westside Elementary School	15.9%	523
Labelle Elementary School	28.1%	452