Clay County Times

There were 6,773 Black students enrolled in Clay County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 1.1% increase from the 6,697 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Clay County welcomed a total of 38,806 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 17.5% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 48 schools in Clay County, Oakleaf High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 939 students, making up 39.7% 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
Oakleaf High School	39.7%	2,364
Orange Park High School	28.7%	1,926
Fleming Island High School	7.7%	1,862
Middleburg High School	7.2%	1,856
Ridgeview High School	20.9%	1,782
Clay High School	12.3%	1,706
Keystone Heights Junior/Senior High School	2%	1,169
Oakleaf Village Elementary School	32.2%	1,055
Lake Asbury Junior High School	9.1%	994
Oakleaf Junior High School	39.3%	993
Tynes Elementary School	15.4%	988
Plantation Oaks Elementary School	39.6%	959
Discovery Oaks Elementary School	35%	939
Lakeside Junior High School	12.1%	924
St. Johns Classical Academy	3.4%	858
Lake Asbury Elementary School	8.5%	849
Keystone Heights Elementary School	2.3%	821
Argyle Elementary School	38.6%	810
Thunderbolt Elementary School	9.7%	802
Orange Park Junior High School	29%	800
Green Cove Springs Junior High School	13.3%	792
Wilkinson Junior High School	8.7%	779
Lakeside Elementary School	13.9%	725
Shadowlawn Elementary School	6.8%	716
Rideout Elementary School	11.2%	696
Robert M. Paterson Elementary School	5.2%	693
Clay Charter Academy	30.3%	693
Elementary School R	13.7%	677
Fleming Island Elementary School	5.3%	659
W. E. Cherry Elementary School	25%	640
Coppergate Elementary School	20.5%	606
Ridgeview Elementary School	15%	581
Charles E. Bennett Elementary School	15.5%	574
Doctors Inlet Elementary School	13.7%	569
Middleburg Elementary School	3.5%	545
S. Bryan Jennings Elementary School	31.4%	497
Orange Park Elementary School	4.4%	480
Swimming Pen Creek Elementary School	9.9%	474
Montclair Elementary School	14.5%	420
Grove Park Elementary School	40.6%	394
R. C. Bannerman Learning Center	24.9%	213
Clay Virtual Franchise	14.2%	141
Pace Center for Girls Clay	28.6%	49