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Monterey County Office of Education
Leadership, Support and Service to Prepare All Students for Success
Dr. Deneen Guss, County Superintendent of Schools
The Monterey County Board of Education is comprised of seven members who represent individual Trustee Areas of the county. Each member is elected by the voters of his or her Trustee Area and serves a four-year term. The Board supports and guides the Monterey County Office of Education in providing leadership and services to the school districts.
The primary responsibilities of the Monterey County Board of Education are to work with the Monterey County Superintendent of Schools to establish the direction and priorities for the Monterey County Office of Education through its budgetary determinations and to provide leadership to support the success of public education.
Collaborate with the county superintendent of schools so that the shared vision, goals and policies of the county office of education can be implemented. Adopt, evaluate and update policies consistent with law and the county board's vision and goals. Maintain a cooperative and supportive working relationship with local school districts, their school boards and the community. Provide community leadership on educational issues and advocate on behalf of students and public education at the local, state and federal levels. Fill by appointment any vacancy that occurs during the elected term of the county superintendent of schools.
Adopt the annual budget and review interim fiscal reports of the county superintendent of schools. Authorize changes to the budget during the fiscal year. Establish the salary of the county superintendent. Review and accept the professional annual accounting audit of the county school's expenditures and financial record keeping. Acquire or dispose of real property as necessary for the county's educational programs. Contract with and employ any persons for special services and advice in financial, economic, accounting, engineering, legal, or administrative matters. Approve contracts for equipment and construction, maintenance or leasing of classroom or office facilities.
Approve the curriculum and maintain accountability for student learning in schools and programs operated by the county office of education. Adopt policies to ensure that a safe and appropriate educational environment is provided for all the students of the county office of education.
Conduct hearings on student expulsion appeals and denied interdistrict transfers. Serve as the County Committee on School District Organization by overseeing the reorganization of school districts through territory transfers or unification and the establishment or rearrangement of governing board trustee areas in the school districts of the county. Conduct public hearings when appropriate.
Grant reviews, if requested, of petitions to establish a charter school if the district school board denies the original petition request. Evaluate petition requests to establish a charter school that will serve pupils for whom the county office of education is responsible. Provide supervisory oversight for any charter school whose petition was accepted by the county office of education.
We, the Members of the Monterey County Office of Education, must do everything measured by the following standards:
In California's public education system, a trustee is a person elected or appointed to serve on a board of education. Individual board members bring unique skills, values and beliefs to the County Board of Education. In order to govern effectively, individual board members must work with each other and the superintendent to ensure that a high quality education is provided to each student.
To be effective, an individual board member:
The Monterey County Board of Education believes California K-12 schools are public institutions that belong to the communities they serve. Responsibility for their fiscal health and effectiveness is granted to locally elected boards. To fulfill these responsibilities, boards must have maximum autonomy and flexibility. The California School Boards Association provides professional guidance, training and resources to school board members to build strong governance teams. For more information, visit the California School Boards Association's Effective Governance webpage.
Citizen oversight of local government is the cornerstone of democracy in the United States. School board members are locally elected public officials entrusted with governing a community’s public schools. The role of the school board is to ensure that school districts are responsive to the values, beliefs and priorities of their communities. Boards fulfill this role by performing five major responsibilities:
For more information about roles and responsibilities of school boards, please visit the California School Boards Association's Role and Responsibilities webpage.
The MCOE prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
Accessibility Statement | Non-discrimination Policy | Sexual Harassment Policy | Uniform Complaint Procedures | Title IX NotificationCopyright © 2014 Monterey County Office of Education | WebMaster | Contact MCOE: 831.755.0300 | 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas, CA 93901
Welcome to the Monterey County Office of Education’s Website
We want everyone who visits our MCOE website to feel welcome and to easily find the information they need. Our website will be maintained in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We will ensure each webpage conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA standards. These guidelines were established by the World Wide Web Consortium, an international community with a shared vision to make all websites accessible to individuals with visual, hearing or cognitive disabilities.
How to Report Issues
If you have difficulty accessing information on our website due to a disability, please contact us at webmaster@montereycoe.org. and provide the URL (web address) of the material you tried to access, the problem you experienced, and your contact information (name, email address and phone number) so that we may contact you to provide the information in another format.
Title IX - Sex-Based Discrimination is Prohibited
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in all educational programs and activities, including athletic programs. No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity operated by the Monterey County Office of Education. Title IX protects all participants in the County’s educational programs and activities, including students, parents, employees, and job applicants. The Monterey County Office of Education does not discriminate on the basis of sex. Discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment and sexual violence.
In addition to Title IX, the California Education Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools. (California Education Code §§ 220-221.1.) Other state and federal laws also prohibit discrimination and ensure equality in education. Please refer to Board Policies 5145.3 and Administrative Regulations 5145.3 for more information on the Monterey County Office of Education’s anti-discrimination policies.
You have the following rights under Title IX, to the extent applicable at the Monterey County Office of Education:
The Monterey County Office of Education has a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. If the Monterey County Office of Education knows or reasonably should know about sex discrimination, it must take action to eliminate the sex discrimination, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects. The Monterey County Office of Education must resolve complaints of sex discrimination promptly and equitably. Information on filing a complaint alleging sex-based discrimination is below, including contact information for the County’s Title IX Coordinator.
For more information specific to anti-discrimination in Monterey County Office of Education employment, please contact the Title IX Coordinator.
Learn more about your rights under Title IX:
Review related Monterey County Office of Education policies and regulations
The Monterey County Office of Education has a Title IX Coordinator who oversees the County’s compliance with Title IX requirements and promotes sex equity in the County’s programs. Contact the County’s Title IX Coordinator:
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Title IX Coordinator
831.784.4195
lbutler@montereycoe.org
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Title IX Coordinator
831.755.1405
evela@montereycoe.org
The Uniform Complaint Procedure is available on the Human Resources Forms page.
If you need assistance putting your complaint in writing, please contact the Human Resources Department for Personnel related complaints and the Student Services Department for Student related complaints. You may file a complaint anonymously, but the County Office of Education’s ability to investigate and respond may be limited by a lack of information.
You may also file a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights website. The electronic complaint form for the Office for Civil Rights is available on the Office for Civil Rights' Website. Contact the Office for Civil Rights at:
San Francisco Office Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
50 United Nations Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: 415.486.5555
Fax: 415.486.5570
TDD: 800.877.8339
Email: ocr.sanfrancisco@ed.gov
For information about how to file other types of complaints and the procedures for those complaints, please contact the Human Resources Department at Monterey County Office of Education at 831.784.4195.
A complaint alleging unlawful discrimination or retaliation must be filed no later than six months from the date the discrimination or retaliation occurred, or six months from when the complainant first learned of the unlawful discrimination. The Superintendent or designee may extend this timeline by up to ninety days for good cause, upon written request by the complainant setting forth the reasons for the extension.
Complaints filed under the County’s Uniform Complaint Procedure will be investigated and a decision made within sixty calendar days of the County’s receipt, unless the complainant agrees to an extension. The County’s compliance officer or designee may interview alleged victims, alleged offenders, and relevant witnesses. The compliance officer may review available records, statements, or notes related to the complaint, including evidence or information received from the parties during the investigation. The compliance officer may visit reasonably accessible locations where discrimination is alleged to have occurred. As appropriate, the County’s compliance officer periodically will inform the parties of the status of the investigation. The complainant will be notified when a decision is made.
Complaints that are not filed under the County’s Uniform Complaint Procedure will be investigated and decided pursuant to the applicable procedure.
For complaints filed under the Uniform Complaint Procedure, the compliance officer will prepare and send a final written decision to the complainant and respondent, if any, within 60 calendar days of the County’s receipt of the complaint (unless this deadline is extended by mutual agreement).
The complainant or respondent may appeal the County’s decision within fifteen calendar days to the California Department of Education. The appeal must specify the reason for the appeal and whether the County’s facts are incorrect and/or the law is misapplied. The appeal must include a copy of the original complaint to the Monterey County Office of Education and a copy of the County’s decision. For more information, visit the California Department of Education’s webpage on Uniform Complaint Procedures.
For complaints alleging unlawful discrimination based on state law, the complainant may pursue available civil law remedies, including seeking assistance from mediation centers or public/private interest attorneys, sixty calendar days after filing an appeal with the California Department of Education. (California Education Code § 262.3.) Note that this sixty day moratorium does not apply to complaints seeking injunctive relief in state courts or to discrimination complaints based on federal law. (California Education Code § 262.3.)
Complaints may also be filed with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, within 180 days of the alleged discrimination. For contact information, see the section above on “How do I file a complaint of sex discrimination?” and/or visit U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights website.
If the compliance officer finds that a complaint has merit, the Monterey County Office of Education will take appropriate corrective action.
For more information regarding Title IX and sex equity in education or in Monterey County Office of Education employment, please contact the County’s Title IX Coordinator.
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Title IX Coordinator
831.784.4195
lbutler@montereycoe.org
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Title IX Coordinator
831.755.1405
evela@montereycoe.org