Florida’s schools have been infected with woke ideology for far too long.
Parents have watched helplessly as radical board members put politics before children’s safety.
And Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas just used one bold move to clean house that has radical school board members running scared.
Commissioner takes swift action after disturbing safety failure
Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas proved once again why Governor DeSantis chose him to lead Florida’s fight for educational excellence.
When a disturbing incident at Sabal Point Elementary in Seminole County revealed dangerous gaps in school safety, Kamoutsas didn’t hesitate to take immediate action.
The incident involved paraprofessional Marc Edward Simmons Jr., who told a school resource officer he had thoughts about "cutting a child’s throat with a knife" when he became frustrated with a six-year-old student and had "thought about carrying out a shooting at the school," according to the sheriff’s office.
https://twitter.com/StasiKamoutsas/status/1976285896157659502
Simmons did the right thing by self-reporting these dangerous thoughts and immediately resigning his position.
But the real scandal was what happened next – or rather, what didn’t happen.
Seminole County officials left parents completely in the dark for days about someone with violent thoughts toward their children having access to their classrooms.
"Parents were blindsided, educators felt abandoned, and the superintendent’s office seemed more concerned with optics than immediate safety," Kamoutsas wrote in a stern letter to all district superintendents across Florida.
This is exactly the kind of accountability parents have been demanding from their education leaders.
Kamoutsas exposes woke school board’s dangerous priorities
But Kamoutsas didn’t stop with fixing the immediate safety crisis in Seminole County.
He took his fight directly to one of Florida’s most problematic school boards – Alachua County, where radical members have been putting left-wing politics ahead of children’s education for months.
The commissioner appeared unannounced at the October 7 Alachua County School Board meeting to deliver a blistering rebuke that exposed exactly what’s wrong with woke education in America.
"I’m outraged by the toxic culture, the pattern of intimidation, and the dereliction of duty that this Board has repeatedly demonstrated," Kamoutsas announced to the packed meeting.
He wasn’t pulling any punches.
The commissioner detailed how this radical board has repeatedly violated parents’ First Amendment rights, forcibly removing concerned citizens from meetings while acting like the law doesn’t apply to them.
Vice Chair Tina Certain became the poster child for everything wrong with woke school boards when she posted disgusting comments about Charlie Kirk after his assassination.
On her Facebook page, Certain called Kirk a "31yr old uneducated white boy" following his memorial service on September 21.
This is the same Charlie Kirk who dedicated his life to inspiring young conservatives and defending American values – and Certain thought his murder was an appropriate time to launch personal attacks.
https://twitter.com/StasiKamoutsas/status/1975700644838162509
Commissioner connects the dots on dangerous rhetoric
Kamoutsas made the connection that mainstream media refuses to acknowledge.
"That post came after I sent a letter to all Superintendents and teachers in our state, emphasizing the importance of their role over students — young, impressionable minds who are seeing adults not lead by example, by celebrating violence in a school shooting… by glorifying a school shooter. That is a terrible example for our youth," Kamoutsas said during the meeting.
The timing couldn’t be more important.
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination sent shockwaves through conservative America, education leaders should have been modeling appropriate behavior for students.
Instead, radical board members like Certain used the tragedy as an opportunity to spew hateful rhetoric about a murdered conservative activist.
Think about the message this sends to impressionable young minds.
When school board members celebrate political violence and demean assassination victims, they’re teaching children that hatred is acceptable as long as it targets the "right" people.
This same board had previously been in hot water when Chair Sarah Rockwell posted about WWE’s Hulk Hogan: "Oh did Hulk die? I didn’t even know. Good. One less MAGA in the world."
Parents rally behind commissioner’s tough stance
The good news? Parents across Florida are standing with Commissioner Kamoutsas in his fight to clean up these radical school boards.
Jeremy Clepper, who previously criticized Rockwell’s hateful comments about Hogan, returned to defend conservative values at the meeting.
"All Charlie Kirk ever did was create environments for open debate and discourse to challenge and open minds," Clepper said. "It was rhetoric like this board has vomited for years that got that young man, father and husband murdered."
https://twitter.com/StasiKamoutsas/status/1971322713487954233
Clepper connected the dots between the board’s pattern of hateful rhetoric and the climate of violence that led to Kirk’s assassination.
This is exactly the kind of courage parents need to show when confronting woke school boards that put politics before children.
Kamoutsas has been monitoring this problematic board since August after they violated citizens’ constitutional rights at public meetings.
The state was forced to mandate First Amendment training for board members who apparently needed remedial education on basic constitutional principles.
Real accountability comes to Florida schools
Here’s what makes Kamoutsas’s approach so effective – he’s not just talking tough, he’s taking action.
The commissioner announced that Simmons, the Seminole County employee with violent thoughts, will be blacklisted in a statewide database to ensure he "should never step foot in a Florida classroom again."
This is the kind of proactive protection parents deserve for their children.
Kamoutsas is also demanding stricter adherence to employee background and history checks, citing multiple state laws that require thorough vetting of anyone with student contact.
"School districts must ensure every individual allowed on campus is trustworthy and safe. No excuses," the commissioner wrote.
But he’s not stopping with safety improvements – he’s going after the root cause of the problem: radical board members who prioritize politics over children.
Certain has been summoned to appear before the State Board of Education in November, where she’ll have to explain "why it is that you believe you’re fit to serve the residents of Alachua County."
The bigger picture: Taking back our schools
This is what real educational leadership looks like.
While other states let woke school boards run wild, Florida has a commissioner who’s willing to confront radical ideologues head-on.
Kamoutsas understands what many parents have learned the hard way – you can’t separate school safety from the toxic culture created by board members who hate conservative values.
When school officials spend their time celebrating political assassinations and demonizing patriotic Americans, they’re not focused on protecting children or improving education.
https://twitter.com/StasiKamoutsas/status/1966871231589916704
The commissioner noted that despite this board’s political grandstanding, Alachua County earned only a "B" grade and nearly 10% of district schools are "D" schools.
"Why are you not prioritizing your students? Instead, your public service is about yourself and your selfish acts," Kamoutsas demanded.
That’s the question every parent should be asking their local school board members.
"I’m determined to change the culture of intimidation and neglect of duty here in Alachua County. Teachers, students, and parents deserve a better Board," Kamoutsas concluded.
The commissioner’s message is crystal clear: Florida will no longer tolerate school boards that put woke politics before children’s safety and education.
Parents who want their children protected from both physical danger and radical indoctrination now have a champion in Commissioner Kamoutsas.
The only question is whether other states will follow Florida’s lead in cleaning house.
¹ Michelle Vecerina, "Education Chief calls paraprofessional ‘dangerous’ and demands tighter employee vetting statewide," Florida News, October 9, 2025.
² FOX 35 Orlando, "State education commissioner confronts Alachua school board," October 9, 2025.
³ Jennifer Cabrera, "Culture of intimidation and neglect of duty: Commissioner of Education Kamoutsas speaks at the School Board of Alachua County meeting," Alachua Chronicle, October 7, 2025.
⁴ Chelsea Long, "Florida education commissioner scolds Alachua County School Board over past comments, conduct," Gainesville Sun, October 8, 2025.
