The following is a blog post authored by Mendocino County Office of Education’s Superintendent Michelle Hutchins:
They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, the pandemic gave us a whole new set of necessities to consider, so at the Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE), we’ve been busy making changes to better meet the evolving needs of Mendocino County schools and students.
Most people don’t really understand the role of county offices of education. Basically, we are responsible for two main functions: regulatory oversight and technical assistance for local schools and districts. We also provide some direct student instruction.
Our 185 employees work with 12 public school districts serving more than 12,000 TK-12 students, plus an additional 15 charter and private schools serving 1,500 students. In addition, we offer adult training and credentialing for dental assistants, medical assistants, and phlebotomists.
To do our work as efficiently and effectively as possible, we recently developed a strategic plan to guide our organization into the future. During this process, we identified the need to restructure our organization into four main divisions: The Office of the County Superintendent, Business Services, Administrative Services, and Educational Services.
The Office of the County Superintendent
As the Mendocino County Superintendent of Schools, I am a constitutional officer of the State of California. The Office of the County Superintendent is responsible for agency-wide oversight, including County Board of Education coordination, community relations, championing the needs of Mendocino County schools at the State level, and interpreting State and local policy to ensure local schools are compliant with numerous and constantly evolving regulations.
Educational Services Division
Our Educational Services Division, led by Kim Kern, provides leadership and support to school districts to assure high-quality planning, curriculum development, instructional delivery, student assessment, academic coaching, and professional development. The departments that make up this division are Continuous Improvement, Early Learning and Care, Alternative Education, and Special Education.
This division supports many of Mendocino County’s most vulnerable students with direct services for students who experience complex disabilities, as well as adjudicated and incarcerated students served through court and community schools. Many districts find it cost-effective to partner with MCOE to help these students achieve personal and academic success.
One of the issues the pandemic highlighted is the persistent and overlapping barriers some students face when striving for academic achievement. Our rural county includes large populations of people who have been historically and structurally excluded from access to services and a wide range of educational opportunities. For example, many Native American students, students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, students whose family income falls below federal poverty thresholds, and English language learners need extra support inside and outside of the classroom to thrive. MCOE provides leadership, resources, services, and programs to improve the educational experience and outcomes for all Mendocino County students.
Business Services Division
The Business Services Division provides fiscal support and oversight for school districts. Many of the financial services MCOE provides are required by law, including budget review and approval, attendance accounting, financial reporting, and resolution of audit findings. We also provide financial training, software, retirement reporting, and vendor payments. Finally, we offer schools cost-saving group purchasing programs and general assistance with maintenance and operations of facilities.
I’m excited to announce that we just welcomed a dynamo of a leader to serve as the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services: Merilyn Tiriboyi. Merilyn comes to us from Woodland, California, where she was the government industry accounting manager for the County of Yolo Department of Financial Services. Her goal is to ensure the agency’s fiscal solvency while “bringing joy to our work.” In our short time working together, I can tell you she is definitely succeeding on both accounts. Merilyn and the entire Business Services team provide the financial information schools need to make sound business decisions.
Administrative Services Division
Finally, our Administrative Services Division, led by Becky Jeffries, includes Human Resources, Risk Management, and Technology. This division manages employee recruitment and benefits, policy development and enforcement, American Disabilities Act compliance, emergency preparedness, technology support, and more. Becky’s goal is to assure that MCOE employees have the training and tools they need to professionally thrive and effectively support our districts and schools.
Here at MCOE, we believe our reorganization will support equitable and fiscally responsible service provision and resource management so schools can offer a wide range of educational opportunities for all Mendocino County students.
