Plumas Governing Board

Plumas Unified School District is controlled locally through a Board of Education, elected by voters in each trustee area. Five board members serve as single-member district representatives.

 

All of the members serve four-year terms. The Board of Education oversees the school programs in accordance with the state constitution and the standards set by the state. A policy-making body, the board delegates the day-to-day administration of the schools to the Superintendent and the administrative staff.

The School Board is elected by the voters of Plumas County and serves a constituent district.

 

What Makes Plumas County’s School System Unique?

Plumas County is one of just seven counties in California that operates as a single-county Office of Education (COE) and a single unified school district (USD). Plumas Unified School District (PUSD) is the only district serving TK-12 students in the county, and the Plumas County Office of Education (PCOE) functions at a higher level, providing oversight and essential services that support education countywide as well as serving as a liaison with the state.

Unlike most counties, where a COE oversees multiple school districts, Plumas County has just one district—and currently two distinct superintendents. The PCOE superintendent has a broader, countywide role, ensuring that PUSD meets state and federal education requirements, managing specialized programs like Outdoor Education, Child Development Programs, Career and Technical Education, Opportunity Program, and County Community Schools, as well as services like Business Services, Payroll, Student Information Services, and Technology.

The PUSD superintendent, on the other hand, focuses on the direct operations of schools—curriculum, instruction, staffing, and day-to-day management.

This means that while PUSD handles the teaching and learning within its schools, PCOE provides guidance, accountability, and countywide resources to ensure a high standard of education for all students. This setup allows for efficiency and alignment while ensuring compliance with state regulations and best practices in education.

In our single/single structure, one elected board serves two roles. The Plumas Unified School District and Plumas County Office of Education Board of Trustees acts as the governing board for PUSD, hiring and supervising the district superintendent, making policy decisions and overseeing district fiscal operations. However, for PCOE, this same board functions in an advisory capacity, rather than a governing one, since the 58 county superintendents in California operate independently, under the guidance from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and California Education Code.

Being a single/single county makes Plumas County unique—and allows us some leeway to tailor our education system to the needs of our rural communities.