Graduation rates decrease in some Panhandle school districts

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Florida’s graduation rate has declined over the past year, but state leaders say it still exceeds the pre-pandemic graduation rate. The Florida Department of Education has also released the graduation rates for individual counties for the 2021-22 school year. Overall, it’s been a mixed report across our viewing area.

Calhoun, Gulf, Franklin, Walton and Washington saw graduation rates increase. Out of those school districts, Franklin saw the highest increase, with the graduation rate going up by more than 8 percentage points.

Bay, Jackson, Liberty, Holmes and Okaloosa saw rates decline from the 2020-21 to the 2021-22 school year. Bay District Superintendent Bill Husfelt will hold a news conference on Tuesday to discuss the report.

In a news release on Monday, Husfelt said, “We knew these numbers weren’t going to be as high as they were the year before because we knew that many students in the previous class could take advantage of Covid-related waivers issued by the government that made the graduation standards temporarily more attainable.” He does say the district is making gains in critical areas.

To see the county-by-county breakdown of these numbers, click here.