Parents say they believe there are 750 students living in Destin that would attend their own high school, that is, if they had one in Destin.

Those parents took their case to the Okaloosa County School Board Monday night, hoping to gain some support. But although the majority of the attendees favored the new high school, not everyone shared that opinion.

There was a mixed showing at the Monday night school board meeting. Local government officials, parents, residents and students all showed up to present their case either for or against the proposed Destin high school.

Charlie Saleeby, a Destin resident, said, "We're the biggest city in the state of Florida that doesn't have a high school. A comment was made that it would be unfair to force students to come from Niceville, but I guess it's fair to force us to go to Fort Walton forever."

The crowed jumped to their feet in support of Saleeby, but councilor Jim Bagby wasn't one of them. He feels a charter school will bring more to the area and that a public school won't be successful, especially with budget cuts.

Councilor Jim Bagby, a Destin resident, said, "I just think another public high school probably doesn't, from a money standpoint, when the state just cut $5 million off their budget."

Other parents countered his remarks by saying if the school board waits any longer, there won't be any land left.

"Land is running out in Destin. There are very few pieces of property that you could even build a high school on."

A majority of the parents said they were in favor of a high school, but some students showed up and said they didn't feel a new high school was necessary.

Students at Fort Walton High School said, "It's just not a big deal for us to have to commute everyday and we just enjoy going to Fort Walton."

Some say not taking action will hurt the community in the future.

"The whole idea of this is to plan for the future 5, 10, 20 years down the road.

The meeting was just a public forum. The Okaloosa County School Board hasn't made any final decision as to whether there will be a new high school.