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Fort Walton Beach City Manager has released a white paper detailing the “impacts of the 3% budget cap” as a lawsuit challenges the March ballot language for the measure. Destin High School is restructuring debt ($20M) to align with lower-than-originally-projected enrollment, Okaloosa Superintendent reflects on a strong first semester while acknowledging challenges ahead, and Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, and Rocky Bayou girls soccer teams earn playoff spots. Also, a Fort Walton Beach man faces charges for stealing a donation box from PAWS.
SCHOOL
Destin High School restructuring debt to align with actual enrollment numbers
Destin High School is restructuring roughly $20 million in debt to better align with actual student enrollment numbers.
- The school, which opened in August 2021 serving grades 9-12, was originally financed based on projections of 800 students.
Enrollment has instead held around 600 – a difference that translates to an annual shortfall of approximately $1.6 million in state and local per-pupil funding, according to Executive Director Donald “Willy” Williams.
At roughly $8,000 per student, Williams told Okaloosa County Commissioners Tuesday, 800 students would generate around $6.4 million annually. Six hundred students brings in approximately $4.8 million.
- “The bottom line is no one wants the school to fail,” Williams said. “You’ve got 600 kids. It’s a vibrant school community. Lots of great things happening. It didn’t reach the number of kids that the original proforma and the census data showed.”
The revenue shortfall prompted the school to pause payments from June through December of last year under a forbearance agreement with bondholders. Williams said the school made a catch-up payment of approximately $150,000 in December and has amortized its next sinking fund payment.
Okaloosa County Commissioners on Tuesday approved an amendment to the school’s loan documents – a procedural step required as part of an ongoing forbearance agreement between Destin High School and its bondholders.
The county serves as a conduit issuer for the bonds but bears no financial liability.
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GAMES
WordroW: February 5, 2026
WordroW is brought to you by Fort Walton Beach Chiropractic – keeping your mind sharp and your spine aligned, one game at a time.
Can you guess today’s 5-letter word in six tries?
WordroW is Get The Coast’s daily word puzzle featuring local words, places, and phrases from our community. You have six guesses to find the mystery word – green letters are correct and in the right spot, yellow letters are in the word but wrong position, and gray letters aren’t in the word at all.
SCHOOL
Okaloosa Superintendent reflects on strong first semester, acknowledges challenges ahead
Okaloosa Superintendent Marcus Chambers released a first-semester reflection Wednesday, looking back at progress across the district while acknowledging challenges ahead.
- “While there is much to celebrate, we must also confront the realities facing public education today,” Chambers wrote.
Those realities include declining enrollment, constrained budgets and housing challenges that have required “difficult but necessary decisions to ensure the long-term strength of our school system,” he wrote.
The district earned its 11th consecutive “A” rating from the Florida Department of Education — one of only three districts in Florida to earn an “A” every year since school grades began in 2014. The superintendent reported the graduation rate climbed to 91% for the 2024-25 school year, up from 88% the previous year.
The number of schools earning an “A” grade increased from 15 to 19. Nine schools were named 2024-25 Schools of Excellence, and Choctawhatchee, Fort Walton Beach and Niceville high schools were named to the 2025 College Board AP School Honor Roll, Chambers noted.
- He also highlighted student achievements, workforce program expansion, facility projects funded by the half-cent sales tax, and community partnerships that supported hundreds of families during the holiday season.
Chambers wrote that the district will continue engaging families, educators and community partners in conversations focused on growth and capacity planning.
“Community voice and collaboration are not simply valued; they are essential to our long-term success,” Chambers wrote.
GAMES
This week’s mini local crossword
Ready to test your knowledge with this week’s mini local crossword puzzle? We usually tie all of our Crossword clues to local topics, recent stories, history facts, etc.
SPORTS
Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Rocky Bayou girls soccer teams earn playoff spots
Niceville enters as the clear favorite in 6A Region 1. Kelly Fernandez’s Lady Eagles will host Navarre in the opening round — a team they beat 4-0 during the regular season. The path appears to lead toward an Elite Eight rematch with Bartram Trail, a game that would carry extra weight after last year’s loss to the Bears. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie in November, but Niceville has the deeper roster with Jezlyn Nelson, Abbey Kurtiz, Delaney Diehl and Payten Hart leading the way.
Fort Walton Beach earned the No. 3 seed in 4A Region 1 and will host Stanton in the opening round. After that, the road gets tough — potentially facing undefeated Vanguard and then No. 1 seed Bishop Kenny, ranked No. 14 nationally.
Rocky Bayou punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 1-0 win over Christ’s Church Academy on Monday. The Lady Knights now travel to face St. John’s Country Day, the top-ranked team in 1A and No. 29 nationally, on Monday at 6 p.m.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Fort Walton Beach man charged with stealing donation box from PAWS
A local man is facing charges after police say he stole a donation box containing cash from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society.
- Tony Salazar, 44, of Fort Walton Beach, was arrested Tuesday and charged with petit theft, according to the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.
Officers received a report of the stolen donation box at approximately 10:19 a.m. Monday from PAWS, located at 752 Lovejoy Road NW. The organization provided video surveillance footage of the incident to police.
With assistance from multiple tips from the public, officers were able to identify and locate Salazar within a short period of time. Police said Salazar provided a full confession, telling officers it was a “crime of opportunity.”
EVENTS
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BUSINESS
FWB City Manager details impacts of 3% budget cap in white paper as lawsuit challenges March ballot language
Fort Walton Beach’s City Manager has released an internal analysis detailing what he describes as operational impacts from a voter-approved spending cap, including delayed vehicle repairs and canceled community programs.
- “I want to take a neutral stance here and simply share data related to the 3% cap on operations,” City Manager Jason Davis wrote in an email accompanying the analysis.
The assessment comes as the FWB Watch Group has filed suit challenging the ballot language for five of six charter amendment questions on the March 10 referendum, including one asking voters to repeal the cap.
Davis said he was unfamiliar with spending caps on local government when he interviewed for the Fort Walton Beach job.
“Oddly enough, I had a few colleagues from ICMA suggest I avoid the job because of the cap, but I was not wholly familiar with what the actual impact would be,” Davis wrote, referring to the International City/County Management Association.
- Davis said his understanding is that Marco Island and Palm Bay “also had similar caps and were reworking their charters due to the impacts on their operation.”
His white paper, titled “True Impacts of a 3% Cap,” outlines what he describes as unintended consequences observed over six months of operating under the restriction.
The FWB Watch Group filed suit Jan. 14 in Okaloosa County Circuit Court. The lawsuit names the city, City Clerk Kim Barnes and Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux as defendants.
The complaint challenges ballot language for five of the six charter amendment ordinances adopted Dec. 16, arguing they violate Florida Statute 101.161, which requires ballot questions to provide “clear and unambiguous” explanatory statements of a measure’s “chief purpose” in no more than 75 words.
IN THE WHITE PAPER: Davis describes a ‘Use it or lose it’ spending mentality, capping youth sports and programs, golf course constraints and more.
OK, that’s all I have for you this morning! I hope you have a great Thursday! Help us shape the future of local news and make a meaningful impact on your community. Click here to learn how you can support us!
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Jared
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