October 12, 2025 • 12 mins
Florida seems determined to try and bring civics and civil discourse back and it starts with students in public education. Florida DOE Commissioner Anastasio Kamoutsos joined Preston to discuss.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
All right, friends, good morning, ruminators, ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls, males and females only. It is the third
hour of the Morning Show with Preston Scott. I am Preston.
He is Jose at Is Show five thousand, four hundred
and sixty nine. But who's counting? Please da with us
for the first time, the new Commissioner of Education for
(00:26):
the Sunshine State, Anastasio kamutsas Commissioner.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
How are you. Good morning, Preston. Thank you so much
for having me on your show this morning.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Hey, my pleasure give everybody just a quick little biographical sketch.
How did you get to the Commissioner of Education?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Desk Ah Well, first and foremost by God's grace. It's
been amazing the doors that have been opened up for
me throughout my career. Went to Regent University, School of Wall,
Conservative Christian law school. From there I went down to
Miami to be a prosecutor my hometown. Did that for
a couple of years, represented police officers a couple of
years after that, and then Richard Corkoran brought me up
(01:04):
here to the Department of Education, where I served in
the General Council's Office. I eventually ascended to General Council,
became the Chief of Staff, went over to the Governor's Office.
That was Deputy chief of Staff to the Governor over education,
amongst many other agencies in my portfolio for a couple
of years. And then when Manny Diaz was selected to
be the president at the University of West Florida, I
(01:27):
was recommended by the Governor and unanimously selected by the
State Board of Education to be the Commissioner of Education.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
That is no small honor when you were chosen. What
was your first reaction?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Incredibly humbled. It was really awesome to see at the
State Board of Education meeting folks who spoke on my
behalf and not just for my career here in Tallahassee,
but I had my pastor's wife who knew me as
a twelve year old kid, that talked about how I
got to this point in life, and so it was
really remarkable. And she was a thirty year plus public
(02:04):
school teacher in Miami, so it was a great perspective
to share as both someone that had tremendous influence over
my life but also who had intimate familiarity with our
education system.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I'm curious you know, unless you're the very first commissioner
of education for a state, you're always picking up where
somebody else left off. So when you walk into that office,
are there sticky notes? Is there a whiteboard? I mean,
where do you begin to kind of assess priorities?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Sure, I'd say, Look, I don't think I ever really
left the Department of Education, even though I was at
the Governor's office and I was balancing quite a few agencies.
Education has always been my passion. I've always remained intimately
familiar with the issues that have been taking place here
at the department. I know the staff by name at
a building that has, you know, hundreds of employees, because
(02:58):
I know the folks and the great work that they're
doing here and the impact that they're having across the state.
And so I was always very close with Commissioner man
ideas I was as chief of staff and maintained that
close relationship over in the Governor's office, and so I
was pretty apprised of all the issues. It was. It
was an easy thing to come in and pick up
the reins and keep it moving.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
One of the first things that you've kind of pushed
out of your office is something that you know, people
might see the initials FCDI not know what Florida Civics
and Debate Initiative is all about. So break it down
for us.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, no, the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative was, you know,
is an amazing program champion by Governor DeSantis where all
sixty seven of our school districts are participating in civic
dialogue and it really is an amazing opportunity for students
to not just argue one side, but to argue both
(03:53):
sides of an issue. And the Governor talks about this
frequently of how important it is that students understand that
there are always two perspectives of an issue, and we
have to respectfully approach debate and civic discourse with individuals
in a respectful manner so that you are appreciating different perspectives.
It doesn't necessarily mean you have to adopt those opinions,
(04:16):
but but you do want to encourage in our students
and appreciation from multiple perspectives.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And this is going to be a competition that statewide
and it culminates with an awarding of a trophy. And
tell us about the naming of the trophy.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, So We're naming the Civics and Debate Championship Trophy
after Charlie Kirk to honor his legacy of courage and
conviction in the public square. I think this shows students
that true leadership is about standing boldly for your ideas
even in the face of opposition, not tearing others down
with cruelty or reckless words. And so by attaching Charlie
(04:55):
Kirk's name to this award, I think we remind every
competitor that is about strength of character, respect for others,
and the responsibility we all share to preserve our republic.
His legacy will inspire Florida students to lead with passion, principle,
and respect, which I believe are qualities that our death,
our nation desperately needs right now.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Wherever you may be, from Florida Sunshine State to California,
I scratch that California is hopeless for the rest. We're
your Morning show, The Morning Show with Preston Scott.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
He is Florida's Commissioner of Education. In Astasio Kamusis. I
want to follow up on that Charlie Kirk reference, and
I think the appropriate naming of the trophy dealing with
civics and dialogue. A local school board member here Stassy
Daryl Jones with the Leon County School Board, posted this
(05:54):
on his social media before deleting it, and it was
the problem is that the Commissioner of Edge, from his
lofty position, found it necessary to inform an entire profession
that it should not comment on the murder of a racist, misogynist,
homophobic clansmen in negative terms. Now, I'm going to just
set aside the foolishness of the comment itself because it's uneducated,
(06:19):
but the fact that he has not apologized or been
called to account for that as it references teachers being
held accountable for the posts that they make relative to
the murder and assassination of Charlie Kirk. Your thoughts on
this and this guy remaining on the school board without
an apology.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Well, thank you for the question. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly
had to call out school board officials across Florida for
posting reckless comments about public figures, including our President, Charlie Kirk,
and even our own governor. These are not slip ups,
These are not casual remarks. They are toxic, irresponsible, and
(07:00):
corrosive to the public. Trusts. School board members are elected
to protect children and serve families. When they indulge in
this kind of behavior, they betray that trust, They create division,
and they make students feel unsafe. I was just at
a Lachua County school board meeting where another school board
member made a similar reckless remark that had to reference
(07:23):
the sparaging comments of Charlie Kirk and his funeral service,
but referenced him as an uneducated white boy. And it
just has no place in our school system. It is
divisive language that now may alienates an entire population of students,
of parents, of quite frankly employees of the school district.
(07:44):
And so you know, it's been problematic, and we've seen
it not just in school board members, but we've seen
it in teachers. In Clay County, there was a teacher
who openly celebrated Charlie Kirk's death on social social media.
We investigated that case, wend I found probable cause. But
that kind of conduct shows gross and morality and reduced effectiveness.
(08:05):
Her statement was that it wasn't the obituary she was
hoping for, but it was a close second for her,
and it was attached to an article that said Charlie
Kirk had been assassinated on a school campus. And so
when teachers or school board members cross that line, you know,
to the extent we can hold them accountable, we will.
Teachers who are celebrating these tragedies are dangerous to children,
(08:28):
quite frankly, as you're supposed to be. These are supposed
to be the role models in the classrooms. Young impressionable
minds are seeing educators that they look up to post
these statements because these posts are going viral, unfortunately, and
it's just not the kind of message that we want
to send to our students. There should never be the
glorification of a school shooter or a school shooting, and
(08:51):
so on our watch, we're going to make sure that
there are consequences to pay as a result of those statements.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
What if anything should happen to a school board member,
whether they you know, leave it posted or not, they
don't issue a retraction or a public apology. So is
what does accountability mean there?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I think the greatest accountability is going to be on
the voters. I think they need to understand that this
individual does not have the best interests of our students
or our teachers. When they're making their public service about themselves.
This is a selfish act that's intended to draw attention
to themselves. Where our school board member Daniel Folk are excusing,
our State Board of Education member Daniel fog and Holy
(09:31):
said it best that these are individuals who are seeking
attention by making these social media posts and not retracting
their apologies because they're gaining media coverage and in their minds,
I think they think it's an opportunity for them to
chase the next political career opportunity for themselves. It's not
student focused, it's not parent focused or teacher focused, and
(09:53):
as a result, districts are suffering negative consequences and negative
media coverage because one individual making this issue about themselves
as opposed to unifying the students and trying to direct
them towards some positivity that can result from such a
horrific tragedy. And that's what we tried to do with
the Florida Civics and Debate initiative by naming the trophy
(10:16):
after Charlie Kirk because he was a champion for civic
discourse and open dialogue, a champion for the First Amendment
and the importance of respecting other ideas, not taking it
upon ourselves to engage in violent acts with those we
disagree with.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
I know you got a role, but just to follow
up and put a bow on this particular topic, Commissioner,
but what if the board member is not just a
school board member elected, but is in fact an employee
of one of the municipalities.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Well, look, I mean I don't know from our standpoint
that that would make a difference. I mean, I have
regulatory authority with a tea for a teaching certificate. So
if it's a school board member that has a teaching
certificate and there's a behavior that they engage in that,
thank you, then I would be able to, you know,
investigate and take action on that. But you know, as
far as a municipal employee, look, I mean obviously I
(11:10):
work in the world of administrative law, but labor and
employment law has different standards, and sure, you know, ultimately,
if you're a poor representative of your employer, then employers
should and you know, are encouraged to take action because
it's a reflection on the work that they provide.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Fair Enough, Commissioner, look forward to having your back on
the program whenever you like. Thanks for the time to day.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Thank you, Preston, have a great one job.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Blessed Nostasios Kamutsis. He is the Commissioner of Education for Florida.
I don't know if Vince Long, the county administrator for
Leon County, caught that, but it's on you now. I
don't necessarily think he needs to lose his job. I
do think he needs to be told to apologize, retract
the statement publicly, or lose your job. But he's paid for.
(11:53):
He's an employee of taxpayers, not just as an elected
official as a school board member, but for the county.
All right, friends, good morning, ruminators, ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls, males and females only. It is the third
hour of the Morning Show with Preston Scott. I am Preston.
He is Jose at Is Show five thousand, four hundred
and sixty nine. But who's counting? Please da with us
for the first time, the new Commissioner of Education for
(00:26):
the Sunshine State, Anastasio kamutsas Commissioner.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
How are you. Good morning, Preston. Thank you so much
for having me on your show this morning.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Hey, my pleasure give everybody just a quick little biographical sketch.
How did you get to the Commissioner of Education?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Desk Ah Well, first and foremost by God's grace. It's
been amazing the doors that have been opened up for
me throughout my career. Went to Regent University, School of Wall,
Conservative Christian law school. From there I went down to
Miami to be a prosecutor my hometown. Did that for
a couple of years, represented police officers a couple of
years after that, and then Richard Corkoran brought me up
(01:04):
here to the Department of Education, where I served in
the General Council's Office. I eventually ascended to General Council,
became the Chief of Staff, went over to the Governor's Office.
That was Deputy chief of Staff to the Governor over education,
amongst many other agencies in my portfolio for a couple
of years. And then when Manny Diaz was selected to
be the president at the University of West Florida, I
(01:27):
was recommended by the Governor and unanimously selected by the
State Board of Education to be the Commissioner of Education.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
That is no small honor when you were chosen. What
was your first reaction?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Incredibly humbled. It was really awesome to see at the
State Board of Education meeting folks who spoke on my
behalf and not just for my career here in Tallahassee,
but I had my pastor's wife who knew me as
a twelve year old kid, that talked about how I
got to this point in life, and so it was
really remarkable. And she was a thirty year plus public
(02:04):
school teacher in Miami, so it was a great perspective
to share as both someone that had tremendous influence over
my life but also who had intimate familiarity with our
education system.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I'm curious you know, unless you're the very first commissioner
of education for a state, you're always picking up where
somebody else left off. So when you walk into that office,
are there sticky notes? Is there a whiteboard? I mean,
where do you begin to kind of assess priorities?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Sure, I'd say, Look, I don't think I ever really
left the Department of Education, even though I was at
the Governor's office and I was balancing quite a few agencies.
Education has always been my passion. I've always remained intimately
familiar with the issues that have been taking place here
at the department. I know the staff by name at
a building that has, you know, hundreds of employees, because
(02:58):
I know the folks and the great work that they're
doing here and the impact that they're having across the state.
And so I was always very close with Commissioner man
ideas I was as chief of staff and maintained that
close relationship over in the Governor's office, and so I
was pretty apprised of all the issues. It was. It
was an easy thing to come in and pick up
the reins and keep it moving.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
One of the first things that you've kind of pushed
out of your office is something that you know, people
might see the initials FCDI not know what Florida Civics
and Debate Initiative is all about. So break it down
for us.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, no, the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative was, you know,
is an amazing program champion by Governor DeSantis where all
sixty seven of our school districts are participating in civic
dialogue and it really is an amazing opportunity for students
to not just argue one side, but to argue both
(03:53):
sides of an issue. And the Governor talks about this
frequently of how important it is that students understand that
there are always two perspectives of an issue, and we
have to respectfully approach debate and civic discourse with individuals
in a respectful manner so that you are appreciating different perspectives.
It doesn't necessarily mean you have to adopt those opinions,
(04:16):
but but you do want to encourage in our students
and appreciation from multiple perspectives.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And this is going to be a competition that statewide
and it culminates with an awarding of a trophy. And
tell us about the naming of the trophy.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, So We're naming the Civics and Debate Championship Trophy
after Charlie Kirk to honor his legacy of courage and
conviction in the public square. I think this shows students
that true leadership is about standing boldly for your ideas
even in the face of opposition, not tearing others down
with cruelty or reckless words. And so by attaching Charlie
(04:55):
Kirk's name to this award, I think we remind every
competitor that is about strength of character, respect for others,
and the responsibility we all share to preserve our republic.
His legacy will inspire Florida students to lead with passion, principle,
and respect, which I believe are qualities that our death,
our nation desperately needs right now.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Wherever you may be, from Florida Sunshine State to California,
I scratch that California is hopeless for the rest. We're
your Morning show, The Morning Show with Preston Scott.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
He is Florida's Commissioner of Education. In Astasio Kamusis. I
want to follow up on that Charlie Kirk reference, and
I think the appropriate naming of the trophy dealing with
civics and dialogue. A local school board member here Stassy
Daryl Jones with the Leon County School Board, posted this
(05:54):
on his social media before deleting it, and it was
the problem is that the Commissioner of Edge, from his
lofty position, found it necessary to inform an entire profession
that it should not comment on the murder of a racist, misogynist,
homophobic clansmen in negative terms. Now, I'm going to just
set aside the foolishness of the comment itself because it's uneducated,
(06:19):
but the fact that he has not apologized or been
called to account for that as it references teachers being
held accountable for the posts that they make relative to
the murder and assassination of Charlie Kirk. Your thoughts on
this and this guy remaining on the school board without
an apology.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Well, thank you for the question. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly
had to call out school board officials across Florida for
posting reckless comments about public figures, including our President, Charlie Kirk,
and even our own governor. These are not slip ups,
These are not casual remarks. They are toxic, irresponsible, and
(07:00):
corrosive to the public. Trusts. School board members are elected
to protect children and serve families. When they indulge in
this kind of behavior, they betray that trust, They create division,
and they make students feel unsafe. I was just at
a Lachua County school board meeting where another school board
member made a similar reckless remark that had to reference
(07:23):
the sparaging comments of Charlie Kirk and his funeral service,
but referenced him as an uneducated white boy. And it
just has no place in our school system. It is
divisive language that now may alienates an entire population of students,
of parents, of quite frankly employees of the school district.
(07:44):
And so you know, it's been problematic, and we've seen
it not just in school board members, but we've seen
it in teachers. In Clay County, there was a teacher
who openly celebrated Charlie Kirk's death on social social media.
We investigated that case, wend I found probable cause. But
that kind of conduct shows gross and morality and reduced effectiveness.
(08:05):
Her statement was that it wasn't the obituary she was
hoping for, but it was a close second for her,
and it was attached to an article that said Charlie
Kirk had been assassinated on a school campus. And so
when teachers or school board members cross that line, you know,
to the extent we can hold them accountable, we will.
Teachers who are celebrating these tragedies are dangerous to children,
(08:28):
quite frankly, as you're supposed to be. These are supposed
to be the role models in the classrooms. Young impressionable
minds are seeing educators that they look up to post
these statements because these posts are going viral, unfortunately, and
it's just not the kind of message that we want
to send to our students. There should never be the
glorification of a school shooter or a school shooting, and
(08:51):
so on our watch, we're going to make sure that
there are consequences to pay as a result of those statements.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
What if anything should happen to a school board member,
whether they you know, leave it posted or not, they
don't issue a retraction or a public apology. So is
what does accountability mean there?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I think the greatest accountability is going to be on
the voters. I think they need to understand that this
individual does not have the best interests of our students
or our teachers. When they're making their public service about themselves.
This is a selfish act that's intended to draw attention
to themselves. Where our school board member Daniel Folk are excusing,
our State Board of Education member Daniel fog and Holy
(09:31):
said it best that these are individuals who are seeking
attention by making these social media posts and not retracting
their apologies because they're gaining media coverage and in their minds,
I think they think it's an opportunity for them to
chase the next political career opportunity for themselves. It's not
student focused, it's not parent focused or teacher focused, and
(09:53):
as a result, districts are suffering negative consequences and negative
media coverage because one individual making this issue about themselves
as opposed to unifying the students and trying to direct
them towards some positivity that can result from such a
horrific tragedy. And that's what we tried to do with
the Florida Civics and Debate initiative by naming the trophy
(10:16):
after Charlie Kirk because he was a champion for civic
discourse and open dialogue, a champion for the First Amendment
and the importance of respecting other ideas, not taking it
upon ourselves to engage in violent acts with those we
disagree with.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
I know you got a role, but just to follow
up and put a bow on this particular topic, Commissioner,
but what if the board member is not just a
school board member elected, but is in fact an employee
of one of the municipalities.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Well, look, I mean I don't know from our standpoint
that that would make a difference. I mean, I have
regulatory authority with a tea for a teaching certificate. So
if it's a school board member that has a teaching
certificate and there's a behavior that they engage in that,
thank you, then I would be able to, you know,
investigate and take action on that. But you know, as
far as a municipal employee, look, I mean obviously I
(11:10):
work in the world of administrative law, but labor and
employment law has different standards, and sure, you know, ultimately,
if you're a poor representative of your employer, then employers
should and you know, are encouraged to take action because
it's a reflection on the work that they provide.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Fair Enough, Commissioner, look forward to having your back on
the program whenever you like. Thanks for the time to day.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Thank you, Preston, have a great one job.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Blessed Nostasios Kamutsis. He is the Commissioner of Education for Florida.
I don't know if Vince Long, the county administrator for
Leon County, caught that, but it's on you now. I
don't necessarily think he needs to lose his job. I
do think he needs to be told to apologize, retract
the statement publicly, or lose your job. But he's paid for.
(11:53):
He's an employee of taxpayers, not just as an elected
official as a school board member, but for the county.
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