Dr. Mary Barlow serves as the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) and oversees the Kern County Office of Education, which serves students directly in early childhood education, special education and Court & Community schools. KCSOS also provides fiscal oversight and support to Kern County’s 46 local school districts, serving Kern County’s 199,000 K-12 students.
Dr. Barlow joined KCSOS in 2009 as the deputy administrative officer for the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT). In 2012, she was appointed as assistant superintendent of administration, finance and accountability for KCSOS, where she led the internal and external business and finance divisions of KCSOS. She was appointed as Superintendent in 2017, after serving as associate superintendent for two years and was elected to a four-year term in June 2018. She was reelected in June 2022. Dr. Barlow Is a State Board of Education-appointed board member with WestEd and is involved in leadership positions with many local and statewide organizations.