Miami native, Florida’s top education official tapped to lead Polk State College
Florida’s top education official has a new job.
Polk State College’s board of trustees named Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas its new president Wednesday.
The vote was unanimous, according to a release from Polk State College, a public college based in Winter Haven. In May, Kamoutsas was named as the sole finalist for the job. He will start the role July 6, per the release.
Kamoutsas, 37, has served in the education commissioner role for one year. He has a long history in the commissioner’s office and has been a top lieutenant to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Prior to taking the education commissioner role, Kamoutsas served as DeSantis’ deputy chief of staff. He joined the governor’s office in 2023 after serving in several different roles, including chief of staff and general counsel for the Department of Education.
Kamoutsas is a Miami native and graduate of Miami Springs High and Florida International University. He began his career as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County.
As commissioner, Kamoutsas has supported DeSantis’ conservative agenda.
He has backed efforts to align the state’s schools with the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank. Kamoutsas also pushed for increased oversight into Broward County Public Schools, a frequent target of DeSantis, launching an inquiry into a board member whose ticket for a partisan political event was paid for with public funds.
Kamoutsas has also championed school choice initiatives and crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion principles in schools.
The news release announcing Kamoutsas’ hire stated that he met with about 250 students, faculty, staff and members of the community on Wednesday during meet and greets on the Lakeland and Winter Haven campuses of Polk State College.
Kamoutsas was the search committee’s lone recommendation for the position following a national search that saw more than 100 people apply.
“We are confident in Mr. Kamoutsas’s leadership, experience and vision to move our College forward. We look forward to the difference he will make in the lives of our students, faculty, staff and community members, whom we support through the endeavors of our College,” Polk State College Board Chair Ann Barnhart wrote in the release.
Kamoutsas is following in the footsteps of his previous boss, Manny Diaz Jr., another Miami native. The former commissioner of education and Miami-Dade teacher and lawmaker was named interim president of the University of West Florida last year. Earlier this year, that school’s board approved Diaz’s contract as full-time president at an annual base salary of $674,000.
He joins a long list of people with ties to DeSantis who have been named to top leadership positions in Florida’s public colleges and universities.
In a statement, Kamoutsas said he was “grateful” and focused on the Central Florida college’s contributions to the local economy.
“I am committed to building on Polk State’s strong foundation and ensuring that we continue to meet the growing workforce demands of Polk County. Polk State is a top economic engine for this community, and we will provide the highest level of academics and services that fulfill our College’s mission and uphold Polk State’s vision of serving as the top choice for higher education and workforce training in the State of Florida,” Kamoutsas wrote.
In response to an inquiry on whether the governor had a replacement for Kamoutsas in mind, DeSantis’ Deputy Press Secretary Gatlin Nennstiel wrote “stay tuned!”
