High school graduation rates are up in many areas of Florida — but they’re down in the Sun Coast. New numbers today say eighty percent of high school student in Florida receive their diplomas — but graduation rates are off locally. The graduation rate in Sarasota County remains higher than the state average at almost 85 percent but that’s one percent lower than the previous year. And in Charlotte County, the graduation rate has fallen to 78.6 percent, also down about one percent. Graduation rates count toward a high school’s letter grade from the state. Those grades are expected to be released next week.
