There were 3,334 Black students enrolled in Gadsden County’s only school district in the 2023-24 school year, a 2.5% increase over the 3,254 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Data showed that Gadsden County welcomed a total of 4,705 students at the time. Among them, Black students comprised 70.9% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county. They were followed by Hispanic students with a count of 1,081 (23%), and white students, totaling 177, or 3.8% 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 Black Students | Total District Enrollment | % of Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden County School District | 3,334 | 4,705 | 70.9% |
