Sumter Times

There were 5,557 white students enrolled in Sumter County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 3.2% decrease from the 5,740 white students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Sumter County welcomed a total of 9,196 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 60.4% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 11 schools in Sumter County, Villages Charter School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 2,493 students, making up 66.9% 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
Villages Charter School	66.9%	3,728
South Sumter High School	62.6%	1,058
South Sumter Middle School	62%	879
Webster Elementary School	61.1%	738
Wildwood Middle/ High School	35.8%	737
Bushnell Elementary School	59.7%	719
Wildwood Elementary School	35.3%	658
Lake Panasoffkee Elementary School	73.5%	589
Sumter Prep Academy	53.3%	90