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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah Taxpayers Association President and state Sen. Howard Stephenson doesn't like the makeup of the board that nominates state Board of Education members, and plans legislation that would give the governor's office less power over school board elections.
In the business-backed association's August newsletter, Stephenson wrote that the selection committee is "stacked against school choice advocates and employers (the business community)."
Stephenson also is angry at the governor's office failing to form the 12-member committee by Nov. 1 of last year.
The committee was not appointed until late February, leaving little time to recruit candidates before a filing deadline of March 17.
"That was an error that our office made," said Christine Kearl, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s education deputy. Kearl said the oversight resulted from transitions in the governor's office and was unintentional.
Greg Hartley, the governor's director of boards and commissions, said his office and Kearl's began forming the committee in December.
The process was difficult and slow because Utah law is so specific about the various industry and education sectors that must be represented, he said. Kearl said careful attention was given to selecting a balanced committee in accordance with Utah law.
The nominating committee is charged with winnowing candidate fields to no more than three for each race. The governor must then narrow any fields of three to two names for placement on ballots.
Kearl said that after several candidates dropped out before the filing date, no race had more than three candidates, leaving little reason to convene the committee.
As a result of Stephenson's criticism, Kearl is bringing the committee together next week so members can elect a chairman. Any further action will be up to the chairman and committee, Kearl said.
Stephenson said advocacy groups interested in school reform might have encouraged more candidates to run, but didn't because of "a false sense of security that someone was making sure it would happen."
He said, "Something needs to be done to change the process so that the recruitment happens as a matter of course rather than relying on someone in the executive branch to make it happen."
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
