What the County Office Does?

California’s 58 county offices of education support their counties’ school districts and provide services that vary by county based on local needs. A core responsibility is to act as a fiscal overseer to ensure local educational agencies can meet their financial commitments for the current school year and each of the two subsequent years.

Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Amie Carter was elected to a four-year term that began in January 2023 and serves as chief executive officer of SCOE. Unlike a superintendent at a school district, she has broad authority to enact her platform and tailor SCOE’s programs and staffing to align with her goals of safety and equitable access to high quality educational opportunities.

SCOE has several divisions, containing more than a dozen departments that support operations at SCOE and throughout the county’s 40 school districts. These departments provide an array of services and oversight, including in curriculum and instruction, early childhood education, payroll, technology support and infrastructure, migrant education, campus safety and school culture, school finance, communications, behavioral health, and alternative and special education.

SCOE and the County Superintendent Do Not…

...directly oversee or govern local school districts.

SCOE is primarily a support and advisory agency. The county superintendent, county board of education, and SCOE staff do not oversee or direct staff at Sonoma County districts or schools. All decisions regarding operations or policies at local schools are made by each district’s elected board of trustees and the district superintendents they hire, in alignment with Education Code approved by the state Legislature. SCOE has no role in student discipline, personnel matters, or decisions to close schools or end programs. With very few exceptions involving districts that are in fiscal distress, it cannot override decisions made by district leaders.