Teachers in the Palm Beach County School District returned to work on Monday, Aug. 3, and the first day of school is on Monday, Aug. 10.
That day more than 180,000 students will head back to class. District leaders continue to tout the quality of a Palm Beach County public school education, even as they face what has been an unexpected and costly decline in enrollment.
How large is the Palm Beach County School District?
The district says on its website that it is the 10th-largest in the nation and the fifth-largest in Florida, though those placements might have shifted slightly with the recent decline in enrollment.
A February count of students showed the district had 183,965 total students, down from 184,979 students in the October 2025 count.
The district has 202 schools, including charter schools that
are operated with public school money but managed privately and not by the district.
It is also one of the area's largest employers with nearly 23,000 employees reported in 2025.
Is Palm Beach County School District considered strong academically?
Yes. The Florida Department of Education has given the district an 'A' grade, factoring in academic progress, test scores and graduation rates.
Slightly more than half of the district's schools — 109 of 202 — got an 'A' grade. There were 59 'B' graded schools, and 33 schools got a 'C.' There were no 'D' schools, but one charter school not operated by the district, Glades Academy Inc., got an 'F.' (Charter schools operate with public school money, but are managed privately.)
What's the district's graduation rate?
The district's graduation rate is 93.5%, the highest in its history.
This past school year, 86% of seniors were taking college-level coursework — at least one Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambrigde's Advanced International Certificate Education (AICE) or dual enrollment courses.
Some 144 graduates earned their associate degree alongside their high school diploma. The following schools had the highest number of students earning dual degrees: Seminole Ridge High in Westlake, with 21; Wellington High, with 17, and John I. Leonard High in Greenacres with 12.
Are Palm Beach County schools accredited?
The state of Florida does not require its school districts to be accredited, but the Palm Beach County School District is accredited by Cognia, a group of education experts who have accredited 40,000 schools in more than 100 countries.
Cognia assesses a district's academic environment and performance as well as its leadership and governance.
What about the district's enrollment and budget?
State law requires the district to produce a balanced budget each year, and it has done so again this year, with the Palm Beach County School Board expected to vote on final adoption on Sept. 9.
That budget trims nearly $51 million from school sites, a reduction district officials say is necessary because of declining enrollment and a corresponding loss of state funding. The district's total budget rings in at $5.8 billion, but much of that money comes with restrictions set by state and federal law to specific programming and expenses.
If the district's projection of an enrollment decline of 3,000 students is accurate, that would be a loss of 10,000 students over the past two years. A district's funding in Florida is tied to enrollment, and that drop of 10,000 students equates to a loss of $100 million in state funding.
Educators and other district supporters are critical of the state's legislators, arguing that the increasing funding for private school vouchers deprives public school districts of money they need to do a better job.
The National Education Association ranks Florida 50th out of all states and the District of Columbia in average teacher pay, and the Florida Education Association says the state ranks 41st in per pupil spending.
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County public schools snapshot as first day looms
