A key aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has few public profiles, could soon be a nationally prominent post on Florida Education Board members.
Anastasios I. Camoutes, one of DeSantis’ four vice chiefs of staff, emerged as one of the most frequently mentioned options to replace Manny Diaz Jr., who will become interim president of the University of West Florida in July. If selected, he will follow other top aides and become a high-level post, including James Usmierer as Attorney General and Alex Kelly as Commerce Secretary.
Camoutes, relatively unknown outside the governor’s inner circle, but informally known as “Stasi”, has been involved in education issues for a long time, and served as the Adviser and Head of the Ministry of Education before joining the governor’s staff two years ago.
“If it’s Florida education policy over the past seven years, Stasi fingerprints are there,” said Richard Corcoran, a former education board member who now heads New College in Florida.
Corcoran has shook many issues involved with the 36-year-old Kamoutsas, including ending the mandate of school masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and revamping the state’s higher education system with new, more conservative leadership.
“He feels we need to make decisions based on real facts that we can stand behind,” Corcoran said, adding that Camoutes “really knows what he believes and he’s going to fight for it.”
Diaz said he was not asked, but when he considered the state board of education to appoint a commissioner on Wednesday, he would support Camoutes as his replacement.
“He certainly has institutional knowledge and the ability to play that role,” Diaz said.
He noted that other options for the post may be less, given that Desantis resigned from his position in 18 months and the winner in the governor’s office may have different ideas about the education sector.
“No one is going to leave something else or anything like that,” Diaz explained. “I can’t imagine a manager leaving the timing and unknown (their district).
Camoutes, considered a loyal DeSantis supporter, is obsessed with NBC’s report that he will fundraising political committees connected to DeSantis and prevents promotion of Florida law enforcement officers ready to publicly release DeSantis travel records against the directions of the governor’s office staff.
Kamoutsas also has a reputation as an office enforcer, and Florida political websites have recently called “one of the most feared staff” in the governor’s suite. Diaz admits that Camoutes can be tough and says that that’s what the staff chief does.
“To be the chief of staff, you have to have some toughness. You want to get things done,” Diaz said. “He did a very good job on that.”
Few other names are found in speculation about who will lead Florida’s education policy. This is often an indicator of national education trends.
Some insiders mentioned Rep. Alex Rizzo, a Republican state lawmaker from Hialea, an educator with ties to Diaz. Lizzo laughs and says he’s heard the rumor once, but “no one ever told me about it.”
He then called Kamusuus the person who was rising in his job possibilities.
In contrast, Democrats asked what they know about the vacancies on the committee, who said they were not familiar with Kamusuas.
The state commission has not made clear who is posting it.
Kamoutsas did not respond to requests for comment. His wife is a lawyer with the State University System.
