Anastasios Kamoutsas says he is proud of his accomplishments in first year

After hearing criticism from public school leaders who booed him, Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas touted what he called his “milestones and victories of 2025” in his first year on the job.

“All students deserve the best education possible. Under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida remains the most student-centered state in the nation,”Kamoutsas said. “I am proud of the many accomplishments made this year and look forward to continuing this important work in 2026.”

Those highlights include the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation ranking Florida as No. 1 in education freedom for the four year in a row, said the press release put out by the Florida Department of Education just before the holidays.

The state continues to push for school choice and charter school enrollment hit 404,000 —  the highest in the state’s history, the press release said.

“Florida also expanded the Schools of Hope initiative to allow for co-location of high-quality charter operators at persistently low performing schools. Co-location will provide both educational opportunity and fiscal responsibility for taxpayers,” the press release said.

But critics of Schools of Hope fear that charter schools are taking over traditional public schools and operating there rent-free could be a financial drain on school districts. The topic had sparked the boos when the Education Commissioner spoke to school board members and superintendents in late 2025.

Meanwhile in sharing its 2025 highlights, the state said more students are graduating as well as 30% more students have enrolled postsecondary in career and technical education under the DeSantis administration.

“Florida’s graduation rates reached historic levels, with 89.7% of students earning a standard diploma during the 2023-2024 school year. This is an increase of 1.7 percentage points over last year, exceeding the pre-pandemic rate of 86.9% for the 2018-2019 school year,” the press release said.

In addition, the state said it invested $550 million in Safe Schools in the 2025-26 budget.

Raising teacher pay was a priority in 2025 that carries over in 2026, the press release said.

“The 2025-26 budget included $1.36 billion in salary increases for teachers and other instructional personnel, an increase of more than $102 million over last year, bringing the total investment in teacher salaries to nearly $6 billion since 2019,” the press release said. “In the 2026-27 Floridians First budget, Gov. DeSantis recommended $1.56 billion for teacher pay, a $200 million increase.”