Dr. John Mendiburu appointed Kern County Superintendent of Schools

At a Kern County Board of Education special meeting on May 11, the publicly-elected Board appointed Kern County Associate Superintendent Dr. John Mendiburu as the next Kern County Superintendent of Schools effective July 1. This comes after current Kern County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary Barlow announced her retirement.

During the monthly Kern County Board of Education meeting, Dr. Barlow stated to the Board: "My husband Steve is retiring at the end of May, and I have decided to join him a month later, after completing more than 29 years in public education and 16 years in telecommunications business. It has been my great honor and pleasure to serve as your Kern County Superintendent of Schools these past seven years, and as Associate Superintendent for three years prior to that. I have been blessed to serve with a phenomenal team of county office and district leaders who always put children first."

Board President Ronald Froehlich, on behalf of the board, praised Dr. Barlow for her outstanding leadership during her tenure with KCSOS.

"It is important that the excellent work of KCSOS continue without interruption, and Dr. John Mendiburu is uniquely positioned to lead us into the future. He has the experience and knowledge needed for the job and has a passion for improving the community," he said.

Dr. Mendiburu joined KCSOS in 2019 as Deputy Superintendent, and has served as KCSOS Associate Superintendent since 2020, a position in which he has helped lead the day-to-day operations of the office.

"Tonight, I am honored and humbled by the opportunity afforded to me by the Kern County Board of Education to lead the Kern County Office of Education into the future," said Dr. Mendiburu as he accepted the appointment during the meeting. "I am grateful to Dr. Barlow for her leadership, and I look forward to continuing the great work of this office serving more than 200,000 students throughout Kern County."

Dr. Barlow's last day will be June 30.