Education Commissioner Kamoutsas approved as Polk State College president

Polk State College trustees unanimously approved Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas as its next leader.

He will start in the role July 6.

“I am grateful for the overwhelming support from the District Board of Trustees, Presidential Search Committee and College community,” Kamoutsas said in a Wednesday news release from the college after the vote. “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.”

Prior to the meeting Kamoutsas “met with approximately 250 students, faculty, staff and members of the community during meet and greets on the Lakeland and Winter Haven campuses,” the release says.

Education commissioner is sole finalist for Polk State College presidency

The college said Kamoutsas’s priorities included workforce education, the importance of civil discourse, and data-informed decision making.

A college spokesperson told the Phoenix Kamoutsas’ contract is the “next step” with trustees expected to vote on a finalized contract June 29.

Before this week

Kamoutsas served as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis from 2023 to 2025. Before that, he held several roles in the Florida Department of Education during a time Florida grabbed nationwide headlines for its education policies, including Kamoutsas’ involvement penalizing schools that impose mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The State Board of Education named Kamoutsas education commissioner in July. Four months later Rachel Kamoutsas, Kamoutsas’ wife, was appointed by DeSantis to serve as a judge on Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal in Lakeland. She previously served in various roles for the Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System.

He attended Florida International University for his bachelor’s and Regent University for his law degree.

Polk State changed its presidential search policy in March, including removal of the requirement that a president hold a doctoral degree.

Previously, the policy required the committee searching for a president “to submit a number of qualified applicants, not in priority order, to the Board for final interview.”

That language was removed in March, too.

Kamoutsas was named by the Polk State presidential search committee as the sole finalist for the position May 13.

Former Polk State College President Angela Falconetti left the institution in February to serve as interim president at the University of North Florida.

He will be the sixth president of the college.