Since the Florida Legislature initiated the universal voucher program. Escambia County’s public school enrollment has dropped. The school district has 1,083 fewer students than it did in the fall of 2022.
- Florida’s school voucher program allows families to use public funds to send their children to private schools or cover other educational expenses. As of the 2023-2024 school year, all K-12 students in Florida are eligible for vouchers, regardless of family income. This expansion was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in March 2023.
The average voucher is worth approximately $8,000 per year. This can be used for private school tuition and other related expenses such as books, testing, and registration fees.
The program has seen high demand, with over 300,000 scholarships already approved as of 2023. In the 2021-22 school year, 12% of the state’s education budget went to private school vouchers, increasing to 23% in the current school year.
- Middle schools have been hit the hardest – 689 fewer students.
| Enrollment | |
| 2024-25 | 36,768 |
| 2022-23 | 37,851 |
| Loss | -1,083 |
| Gain/Loss | |
| PK | 28 |
| K-5 | -294 |
| Middle | -689 |
| High | -128 |
| Total Loss | -1083 |
Bellview Middle, Pine Forest High and Jim Bailey Middle have lost over 200 students. Hellen Caro Elementary, Blue Angels Elementary, Ferry Pass Middle and Workman Middle have lost over a hundred.
The schools with the largest increases are Pleasant Grove Elementary (+144), Beulah Middle (+112) and Kingsfield Elementary (+100).
| 2024-25 | 2022-23 | Difference | |
| BELLVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL | 719 | 992 | -273 |
| PINE FOREST HIGH SCHOOL | 1,604 | 1,870 | -266 |
| JIM C. BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL | 948 | 1,159 | -211 |
| HELLEN CARO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 517 | 659 | -142 |
| BLUE ANGELS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 663 | 789 | -126 |
| FERRY PASS MIDDLE SCHOOL | 897 | 1,014 | -117 |
| J. H. WORKMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL | 602 | 705 | -103 |
| A. K. SUTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 500 | 587 | -87 |
| R. C. LIPSCOMB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 692 | 764 | -72 |
| ESCAMBIA VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION | 0 | 66 | -66 |
| SHERWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 452 | 511 | -59 |
| BEULAH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 889 | 946 | -57 |
| WASHINGTON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL | 1,676 | 1,733 | -57 |
| WARRINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 253 | 307 | -54 |
| ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL | 434 | 486 | -52 |
| RANSOM MIDDLE SCHOOL | 1,180 | 1,224 | -44 |
| CORDOVA PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 596 | 637 | -41 |
| SCENIC HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 773 | 809 | -36 |
| BELLVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 513 | 545 | -32 |
| SUCCESS ACADEMY | 236 | 266 | -30 |
| JIM ALLEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 648 | 677 | -29 |
| BRATT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 472 | 496 | -24 |
| ESCAMBIA BOYS’ BASE | 0 | 22 | -22 |
| ACHIEVE ACADEMY AT MCMILLIAN | 260 | 281 | -21 |
| ESCAMBIA HIGH SCHOOL | 1,634 | 1,655 | -21 |
| LINCOLN PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 211 | 230 | -19 |
| ESCAMBIA VIRTUAL ACADEMY FRANCHISE | 159 | 177 | -18 |
| BRENTWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 390 | 407 | -17 |
| MONTCLAIR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 363 | 379 | -16 |
| WARRINGTON PREPARATORY ACADEMY | 559 | 573 | -14 |
| ESCAMBIA WESTGATE CENTER | 127 | 141 | -14 |
| MYRTLE GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 435 | 446 | -11 |
| MOLINO PARK ELEMENTARY | 550 | 561 | -11 |
| PENSACOLA HIGH SCHOOL | 1,221 | 1,229 | -8 |
| BROWN BARGE MIDDLE SCHOOL | 542 | 549 | -7 |
| PENSACOLA BEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, INC | 115 | 122 | -7 |
| NORTHVIEW HIGH SCHOOL | 527 | 532 | -5 |
| LONGLEAF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 545 | 548 | -3 |
| HOSPITAL & HOMEBOUND | 21 | 21 | 0 |
| PACE PROGRAM | 57 | 55 | 2 |
| HOPE HORIZON AT JUDY ANDREWS | 30 | 26 | 4 |
| L. D. MCARTHUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 599 | 593 | 6 |
| COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE ANNEX | 78 | 72 | 6 |
| BEULAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE | 318 | 309 | 9 |
| CAPSTONE ACADEMY | 26 | 16 | 10 |
| ENSLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 476 | 465 | 11 |
| FERRY PASS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 579 | 567 | 12 |
| N. B. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 530 | 514 | 16 |
| GLOBAL LEARNING ACADEMY | 489 | 470 | 19 |
| BYRNEVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, INC. | 193 | 174 | 19 |
| WEST PENSACOLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 485 | 459 | 26 |
| REINHARDT HOLM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 480 | 453 | 27 |
| PINE MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 743 | 710 | 33 |
| OAKCREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 527 | 491 | 36 |
| ESCAMBIA JUVENILE DETENTION | 67 | 28 | 39 |
| O. J. SEMMES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 344 | 302 | 42 |
| WEST FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL/TECHNICAL | 1,322 | 1,277 | 45 |
| NAVY POINT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 484 | 430 | 54 |
| JACKIE HARRIS PREPARATORY ACADEMY | 257 | 203 | 54 |
| J. M. TATE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL | 2,169 | 2,110 | 59 |
| PENSACOLA STATE CHARTER ACADEMY | 112 | 48 | 64 |
| C. A. WEIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 538 | 466 | 72 |
| ESCAMBIA COUNTY ACCELERATION ACADEMY | 205 | 107 | 98 |
| KINGSFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 983 | 883 | 100 |
| BEULAH MIDDLE SCHOOL | 1,070 | 958 | 112 |
| PLEASANT GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 678 | 534 | 144 |
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The only question is why and I believe the answer is quite simple. Poorly run and failing public schools, minimal administrative support from the county educational department and lack of leadership from the county elected officials. Educating the youth of Escambia County should be the top priority!