Okeechobee Times

There were 7,148 Hispanic students enrolled in Hendry County's only school district in the 2023-24 school year, a 1.2% decrease from the 7,234 Hispanic students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Hendry County welcomed a total of 13,406 students at the time. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 53.3% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county. They were followed by white students with a count of 3,334 (24.9%), and Black students, totaling 2,233, or 16.7% of the student population.

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 Hispanic Students	Total District Enrollment	% of Total Enrollment
Hendry County School District	7,148	13,406	53.3%