DiMarco Ready to Seek State’s Top School Job

Maureen DiMarco, California’s Secretary for Child Development and Education and a longtime Orange County resident, said Tuesday she is “95% sure” she will seek the state superintendency of public instruction because “it is time to end the education wars.”

DiMarco, a Democrat appointed by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson upon his election in 1990, said her experience in schools and government, plus her ability to work with a range of politicians, qualify her for the state’s top schools job, which was vacated last year when Bill Honig was convicted of conflict-of-interest charges. Wilson has nominated businessman Sanford Sigoloff as interim superintendent, but Sigoloff has said he will not be a candidate in this year’s election even if he is confirmed.

A Cypress resident since 1972, DiMarco, 45, served for 11 years on the Garden Grove Unified School District’s Board of Trustees, after being a parent volunteer and classroom instructional aide. She spent 1983 as an executive consultant to Honig, and went to work for Wilson in 1991.

“We’ve had a decade of wars. I think it’s time to get people together and start figuring out exactly what we want our schools to have,” DiMarco said.

Candidates must file a notice of intent to run by Feb. 9 for the June nonpartisan election. Other expected candidates for the post include Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Fremont) and Tustin Unified school board member Gloria Tuchman.