Pam Stewart Becomes Commissioner of Education

It's official: Pam Stewart will be taking over as commissioner of education. In a meeting with the Board of Education on Tuesday, Stewart was unanimously selected as to be the permanent replacement for former Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett after he resigned six weeks ago.

This was the second time Stewart has held the interim commissioner post in the last year. She began her career in the '70s as a teacher in Hillsborough County and worked as a principal in Ocala. She also served as deputy superintendent in St. Johns County.

The board was welcoming of Stewart as commissioner, but before the vote, Kathleen Shanahan made sure to remind Stewart of "who she reports to." Chairman Gary Chartrand said he was fully confident Stewart would do well in the position.

"This staff is amazing and we are building a very strong team," said Stewart.

"When you ask for things, we'll get it right," she told the Board of Education.

Gov. Rick Scott expressed his approval of Stewart as commissioner earlier this week.

While this is the Board of Educations decision, we would be proud to have Pam Stewart as commissioner, Scott said in a statement. As a parent and grandparent, and a former teacher and principal, her leadership would provide our education system with valuable stability and experience at this point in our states history.