Foe of Bilingual Education Considers Superintendent Bid

SANTA ANA â€”  Gloria Matta Tuchman, the Santa Ana schoolteacher co-sponsoring a statewide ballot initiative against bilingual education, said Tuesday she is considering a run for state superintendent of public instruction.

If she runs, Matta Tuchman, 56, a Republican who lives in Lemon Heights, would oppose the incumbent, Delaine Eastin, a Democrat.

Matta Tuchman said she had registered her preliminary intent to become a candidate Tuesday with the Orange County registrar of voters, a necessary step to qualify for the June 2 ballot. Her deadline to decide is March 6.

“It’s still in the decision-making stage now,� Matta Tuchman said. “I’ve been prompted by quite a few people to think seriously about it, so that’s where we’re at right now.� She declined to elaborate on her sponsors.

Matta Tuchman ran for the position in 1994, finishing fifth in a field of 12 candidates.

She is a former trustee of the Tustin Unified School District and is in her 33rd year as a schoolteacher. She teaches first grade at Taft Elementary School in Santa Ana.

Asked about the prospect of a Matta Tuchman candidacy, the chief consultant for the Eastin campaign, Cliff Staton, said: “We’re running the campaign we’re going to run. Delaine has a good record. We have smaller classes, higher standards and more technology than we had three years ago.�

Matta Tuchman is one of California’s foremost critics of bilingual education. The ballot measure she and Silicon Valley businessman Ron K. Unz are sponsoring would mandate all-English instruction in most public schools for children who have limited English skills.

A spokesman for Eastin, Doug Stone, has said the superintendent is opposed to the measure.