Legislative Authorization
Assembly Bill 1808 (Statutes of 2018) appropriated $4 million to establish the California Geographic Lead Agencies (Geo Leads) to build the capacity of county offices of education (COEs) to ensure that counties are equipped to build the capacity of their local educational agencies (LEAs) to support the continuous improvement of student performance within the state priorities as defined in California Education Code (EC) sections 52060 and 52066 and address the gaps in achievement between student groups as defined in EC Section 52052.
Purpose
The 9 Geo Leads work together to provide the following support for county offices and school districts. The Geo Leads also connect COEs and LEAs to the other initiatives within California's System of Support.
- Provide expertise to build the capacity of other COEs to effectively provide support to school districts.
- Identify existing resources and (if requested by the California Department of Education [CDE] and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence [CCEE]) develop new resources to improve student outcomes under state priorities, or other areas of identified need.
- Coordinate and calibrate support provided to local educational agencies with other geographic and expert lead agencies, special education resources lead agencies, the CCEE, and the CDE.
- Provide necessary assistance to school districts, when requested by a district or county superintendent.
- Be willing to establish goals and be held accountable for improved performance across multiple measures.
- Perform other duties as specified by the CDE and the CCEE.
Funding Description
Each Geo Lead has been selected for a two-year term ending no later than June 30, 2025, with a possibility of a third year to end June 30, 2026. Each awardee receives a minimum of $250,000 and additional funds are allocated based on a formula derived from the 2018 list of school districts eligible for differentiated assistance. For additional information on funding, please see the California Geographic Lead Agency Program funding profile.
Geographic Lead Agencies and Funding Results
| Geographic Lead Agency | Counties Served | 2023-24 Funding Results |
|---|---|---|
| Kern County Superintendent of Schools | Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura | $672,277 |
| Placer and Sacramento County Offices of Education | Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba |
$605,728 |
| Riverside and San Diego County Offices of Education | Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego | $592,267 |
| Santa Clara County Offices of Education | Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano | $496,876 |
| Shasta County Office of Education | Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity | $565,531 |
| Sonoma County Office of Education | Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma |
$449,981 |
| Tulare County Office of Education | Inyo, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare |
$617,340 |
These are the funding results for the following funding profile.
Contact Information
| Geographic Lead Agency | Director Contact Information | Lead or Co-Lead | Web Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County Superintendent of Schools | Lisa Gilbert |
Lead | Valley to Coast Collaborative’s Website
 |
| Placer County Offices of Education | Gayle Garbolino-Mojica ggarbolino@placercoe.k12.ca.us |
Co-Lead with Sacramento County Office of Education | Placer County Office of Education's Website
|
| Riverside County Office of Education | Amanda Corridan acorridan@rcoe.us |
Co-Lead with San Diego County Office of Education | Southern California System of Support's Website
|
| Sacramento County Office of Education | David W. Gordon dgordon@scoe.net |
Co-Lead with Placer County Office of Education | Sacramento County Office of Education's Website
|
| San Diego County Office of Education | Angela Bass abass@sdcoe.net |
Co-Lead with Riverside County Office of Education | Southern California System of Support's Website
|
| Santa Clara Office of Education | Dr. Yee Wan ywan@sccoe.org Deborah Gorgulho dgorgulho@sccoe.org |
Lead | Santa Clara County Office of Education's Website
|
| Shasta County Office of Education | Mike Freeman mfreeman@shastacoe.org Shere DePaoli sdepaoli@shastacoe.org |
Lead | Shasta County Office of Education's Website
|
Sonoma County Office of Education |
Dian Kitamura |
Lead | Sonoma County Office of Education’s Website
|
| Tulare County Office of Education | Chris Meyer chris.meyer@tcoe.org |
Lead | Mid-State Collaborative’s Website
|