Okeechobee Times

There were 386 Black students enrolled in Okeechobee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 4.5% decrease from the 404 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Okeechobee County welcomed a total of 6,337 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 6.1% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 11 schools in Okeechobee County, Okeechobee High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 114 students, making up 6.5% 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 Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Okeechobee High School	6.5%	1,741
Everglades Elementary School	5.2%	774
Osceola Middle School	6%	711
Yearling Middle School	4.2%	625
North Elementary School	3.4%	558
Central Elementary School	6.8%	548
Seminole Elementary School	3.7%	541
South Elementary School	5.8%	536
Okeechobee Achievement Academy	8.9%	179
Tantie	63.5%	63