Lee Today

There were 32,346 white students enrolled in Lee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 5.5% decrease from the 34,221 white students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Lee County welcomed a total of 98,354 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 32.9% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 113 schools in Lee County, North Fort Myers High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,037 students, making up 56.6% 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
Gateway Charter Elementary School	20.2%	2,977
Lehigh Senior High School	10.6%	2,509
Gateway High School	22.5%	2,312
Ida S. Baker High School	45.2%	2,116
East Lee County High School	13.5%	1,985
Cape Coral High School	40.3%	1,936
Mariner High School	41.1%	1,894
Riverdale High School	42.5%	1,870
Fort Myers High School	43.2%	1,850
North Fort Myers High School	56.6%	1,831
Dunbar High School	8.9%	1,762
Veterans Park Academy for the Arts	15.1%	1,741
South Fort Myers High School	14.8%	1,738
Bonita Springs High School	36.6%	1,528
Estero High School	50%	1,523
Cypress Lake High School	43%	1,507
Oak Hammock Middle School	18.4%	1,422
Island Coast High School	36.8%	1,418
Sunshine Elementary School	8.7%	1,377
Lehigh Acres Middle School	15.3%	1,359
Bonita Springs Charter School	52.3%	1,320
Harns Marsh Middle School	11.1%	1,316
Varsity Lakes Middle School	10.3%	1,257
Lehigh Elementary School	15%	1,227
Mirror Lakes Elementary School	14.9%	1,218
The Alva School	67.5%	1,214
North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts	54.3%	1,165
Gulf Elementary School	55.2%	1,163
Challenger Middle School	45%	1,142
Heights Elementary School	49.9%	1,131
Treeline Elementary School	31.4%	1,127
Tortuga Preserve Elementary School	15.8%	1,110
Three Oaks Middle School	58.9%	1,100
Lexington Middle School	34.5%	1,100
Diplomat Elementary School	39.1%	1,072
Harns Marsh Elementary School	12.3%	1,056
Pinewoods Elementary School	61.4%	1,053
Skyline Elementary School	43.6%	1,040
Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School	19.8%	995
Trafalgar Middle School	46.9%	973
Mariner Middle School	37.2%	964
Caloosa Elementary School	36.2%	963
Mid Cape Global Academy	17.9%	955
Diplomat Middle School	38.8%	934
Three Oaks Elementary School	61.4%	927
Pelican Elementary School	47%	919
Caloosa Middle School	36.9%	915
River Hall Elementary School	44.5%	890
Allen Park Elementary School	15.6%	890
Trafalgar Elementary School	45.5%	882
Oasis Charter Elementary School-South	64.6%	873
Villas Elementary School	12.9%	847
Gateway Elementary School	32.6%	846
Six Mile Charter Academy	24%	845
Oasis Charter Middle School	64.3%	840
Gulf Middle School	51.2%	823
Patriot Elementary School	39.6%	821
Tropic Isles Elementary School	37.5%	818
Oasis Elementary Charter School-North	60.3%	812
Oasis Charter High School	64.6%	804
Hancock Creek Elementary School	39.1%	788
Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts	24.4%	775
Cape Elementary School	48.5%	758
Cypress Lake Middle School	48.7%	753
Tanglewood Elementary School	46.1%	749
Rayma C. Page Elementary School	54.2%	747
Lee County Virtual Franchise	52.2%	737
Orange River Elementary School	4.4%	733
Colonial Elementary School	9.9%	655
Ray V. Pottorf Elementary School	15%	652
Manatee Elementary School	8.8%	640
G. Weaver Hipps Elementary School	13.9%	633
Oak Creek Charter School of Bonita Springs	10.1%	626
Spring Creek Elementary School	13.5%	620
Edgewood Academy	6.3%	618
San Carlos Park Elementary School	33%	606
Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Elementary School	20.8%	602
Dr. Carrie D. Robinson Littleton Elementary School	40%	600
Bayshore Elementary School	71.1%	596
Orangewood Elementary School	18.4%	586
Fort Myers Middle Academy	8.9%	572
Bonita Springs Elementary School	9.2%	555
James Stephens Elementary School	5.5%	541
J. Colin English Elementary School	42.6%	540
Tice Elementary School	3.1%	518
Edison Park Creative and Expressive Arts School	44%	432
Athenian Academy Charter School	43.9%	401
Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School	50.3%	394
Franklin Park Elementary School	4.1%	393
North Nicholas High School	45.5%	323
Coronado High School	19.7%	320
Palm Acres Charter High School	16.4%	280
Island Park High School	27.9%	276
Donna J. Beasley Technical Academy	23.3%	266
Pine Island Elementary School	64.8%	236
Heritage Charter Academy of Cape Coral	33.2%	232
The Sanibel School	85.4%	226
Harlem Heights Community Charter School	7.7%	196
Lee County Acceleration Academies	39.6%	144
City of Palms Charter High School	11%	136
Royal Palm Exceptional School Center	28.3%	120
Northern Palms Charter High School	54.1%	111
Success Academy	20.4%	98
County Wide Exceptional Child Programs	45.7%	81
The Island School	91.8%	61
Pace School for Girls	35%	60
Buckingham Exceptional Student Center	32.2%	59
Southwest Florida Juvenile Detention Center	38.5%	52
Fort Myers Beach Elementary School	75%	48