A bill aiming to put the people's voice back into state school board elections was gutted by its sponsor and killed in committee Thursday.
Substitute HB78, sponsored by Rep. Glenn Way, R-Spanish Fork, sought to take a nominating committee out of the election process for State Board of Education members, essentially letting the governor pick two candidates for the ballot on his own.The original bill would have had State Board of Education candidates go through election procedures as others do seeking public office.
But Way told the House Government Operations Standing Committee that Gov. Mike Leavitt vetoed a similar bill four years ago. He believed Leavitt would favor the substitute bill, which also would help put accountability in the governor's lap.
"The best way to control our education system is to place it in one of our branches of government," Way said.
Candidates are screened by nominating committees of local school board members, parents, teachers and community representatives. The governor selects two candidates from each precinct for the ballot. Some oppose the process as undemocratic.
The selection process was created last decade in attempts to rule out candidates with personal agendas rather than the interests of education as a whole. Also, 15 state school board members represent the whole state and don't have the money to conduct big campaigns a U.S. senator may afford, for instance, said Doug Bates, director of school law and legislation for the State Office of Education.
But Rep. Perry Buckner, D-West Jordan, said the bill would give the governor instead of the people an even a greater hand in the process, a move he opposed.
Both bills were opposed by school board members and the PTA. Utah Eagle Forum president Gayle Ruzicka supported the original bill but said the substitute had little to support. She said the governor should appoint the board or let the people decide, not a hybrid of the two.
The committee voted 5-4 to kill the bill.
The state school board determines policy issues for public education in Utah. The Utah Board of Regents governs higher education, but all its members are governor-appointed.
However, another bill, HB361, aims to change that, too. Rep. Katherine Bryson, R-Orem, is drafting the proposal that might seek to have some regents elected and others appointed by the governor as in California and New Hampshire. She is studying whether colleges would be better served by regents who specifically fight for them and who must answer to constituents.
"I believe there needs to be a stronger voice from communities," Bryson said. "But I'm still looking at it all."