Dr. John Mendiburu was recently appointed as the next Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) by the publicly elected Kern County Board of Education effective July 1, 2023.  This comes after current KCSOS Superintendent Dr. Mary Barlow announced her retirement.



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 says.



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,” says Dr. Mendiburu as he accepted his appointment.  “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.”