History of Schools in Merced County

In 1856 William Nelson was appointed as the first County Superintendent of Common Schools and petitioned the Board of Supervisors to divide the county into three school districts, numbered 1, 2, and 3; thus the present system of schools in Merced County was started.

The 1860 census reported 1,141 persons in Merced County.  In 1863 the County Superintendent reported 267 children on the school rolls and that the school’s budget was $1,000.

In 1895 the first high school was established:  Merced County High School with 27 students and two teachers.  It was under the administration of the County Board of Education.  In 1897 a new high school was completed on the corner of 22nd and M Street in Courthouse Square.

The Merced Union High School District was founded in 1915 with an elected board of trustees and included 36 elementary school districts.

Today there are 20 school districts with their own boards of trustees and superintendents serving 54,000 k-12 students.

There have been 28 county superintendents, the first being William Nelson in 1856 and the twenty eighth being Steven E. Gomes, elected to his first four-year term starting in January 2011.