Okeechobee Times

There were 2,806 white students enrolled in Okeechobee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 0.5% decrease from the 2,819 white 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, white students comprised 44.3% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 11 schools in Okeechobee County, Okeechobee High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 730 students, making up 41.9% 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
Okeechobee High School	41.9%	1,741
Everglades Elementary School	48.2%	774
Osceola Middle School	50.1%	711
Yearling Middle School	40.2%	625
North Elementary School	44.8%	558
Central Elementary School	42.2%	548
Seminole Elementary School	36.2%	541
South Elementary School	58%	536
Okeechobee Achievement Academy	38%	179
Okeechobee Virtual Franchise	65.6%	61