Sarasota Review

There were 3,229 Black students enrolled in Sarasota County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 1.6% decrease from the 3,283 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Sarasota County welcomed a total of 45,041 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 7.2% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 61 schools in Sarasota County, Booker High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 326 students, making up 23.4% 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
Riverview High School	5.7%	2,681
North Port High School	9.2%	2,577
Venice Senior High School	1.2%	2,562
Sarasota High School	6.1%	2,509
Pine View School	1.3%	1,674
Laurel Nokomis School	2%	1,402
Booker High School	23.4%	1,395
Sarasota Middle School	2.1%	1,308
Imagine School at North Port	6.5%	1,177
Sarasota Military Academy	5.6%	1,099
Lamarque Elementary School	5.7%	1,076
Woodland Middle School	9%	1,016
Ashton Elementary School	1.9%	982
Booker Middle School	24.5%	961
Heron Creek Middle School	7.7%	909
Atwater Elementary School	9.7%	853
Tatum Ridge Elementary School	2.4%	833
Toledo Blade Elementary School	6.5%	800
Cranberry Elementary School	5.3%	779
McIntosh Middle School	16%	761
Glenallen Elementary School	6.8%	760
Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences	4.9%	749
Fruitville Elementary School	6.3%	747
Lakeview Elementary School	1.5%	728
Venice Middle School	2.1%	724
Phillippi Shores Elementary School	6.8%	709
Brookside Middle School	11.1%	703
Tuttle Elementary School	11.3%	690
Southside Elementary School	2.2%	681
Gocio Elementary School	17.8%	636
Venice Elementary School	1.6%	631
Gulf Gate Elementary School	4%	624
Bay Haven School of Basics Plus	21.5%	578
Suncoast Polytechnical High School	1.9%	566
Brentwood Elementary School	12.6%	562
Island Village Montessori School	3.1%	546
Garden Elementary School	2.6%	509
Imagine School at Palmer Ranch	3.2%	476
Alta Vista Elementary School	15.6%	473
Dreamers Academy	8.4%	440
Wilkinson Elementary School	14.2%	436
Emma E. Booker Elementary School	51.3%	435
Oak Park School	16.3%	221
Triad	41.7%	115
Suncoast School for Innovative Studies	41.7%	103
Sarasota County Acceleration Academies	16%	94