Superintendent of Schools

The Superintendent has the responsibility of oversight of each school district in the county. Education Code 1240 describes the general duties of the county superintendent. Some of the functions include: fiscal oversight, annual reports, visit schools to determine school conditions, act as a buying agent and many other related functions.

About our Superintendent

Paul Tichinin has worked in education since 1968, starting as a substitute teacher at Morgan Hill Unified School District and served through the years in capacities ranging from counselor, coordinator, instructor to resource teacher, director, administrator and superintendent. He has served the Mendocino County Office of Education in a wide range of capacities since 1980. He was first elected as Mendocino County Superintendent of Schools in November of 1994, then re-elected in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Paul received his B.A. in Social Science / Economics from CSU Hayward and his M.A. in Administration/Vocational Education from CSU Long Beach. He has two educational publications to his credit and has worked on numerous county, regional and state wide grants and projects. He has served as a special and vocational educational consultant and has been appointed to a wide range of community board positions.

In addition to his work with the Mendocino County Office of Education, Paul is involved in many community and professional organizations and activities. He currently works closely with the First 5 Commission, the Fiscal and Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) and the CCSESA Technology and Telecommunications Steering Committee (TTSC).

Paul serves 12 school and community college districts, supervises approximately 200 educational employees and oversees a budget of $36 million including SELPA dollars that serves 13,688 students.

Paul lives in Fort Bragg with Judy his wife of 40 years. The couple have two adult daughters; Katrina and Lilli.

Paul rises early to workout at the health club before commuting from Fort Bragg to Ukiah every day, over an hour one way. He has a lot of energy, enjoys traveling and loves to dive for abalone. He is dedicated to his work in public education and thrilled when he can spend time in the classroom working directly with students and teachers.