Is process tainted by politics?

But education circles have been leery of the new nominating committee. And the statewide committee's premiere nominating action fueled the concern.

Anderson, who represented District 12 in Utah County, became the second incumbent in history not to clear the committee. The first was Jay Liechty in 1992, the State Office of Education reports.

"As an incumbent, you think you would have a right to run again," Anderson said. "It's incomprehensible."

Anderson is a businessman of 30 years who received 68 percent of the vote last election. Neither he nor David Evan Lifferth, a parent on the Utah County committee evaluating whether to create a new school district, cleared the committee.

"I know in Utah County especially, in the area Anderson services, charter school and voucher (advocates) are becoming very strong, and Alpine School District is stamping out schools all the time, and people are ready for school choice and something different to happen," said David J. Adamic, co-founder of the John Hancock Charter School who cleared committee along with Mark Cluff and Vic Deauvono. "That may have had something to do with it."

'Broad variety'

The committee did not ask about school choice issues, former board member White said. But, she says: "I had been told that the committee felt that the state board should have as its board members people who had not been affiliated with public education. But I was not told that by the committee.

"I think that it's unfortunate in terms of that I have so much expertise . . . having had the privilege of traveling to every state in the nation and studying the very best districts, seeing nationwide what works extremely well and what doesn't work. I think I would have had something to contribute to the state board in Utah."

For District 13 in Utah County, the committee forwarded Brian F. Woodfield, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Brigham Young University; Dylan Finch, a 22-year-old BYU economics major; and Thomas A. Gregory, a 25-year-old father of two who just finished a bachelor's degree in computer science at BYU.

"I'm a parent. I'm going to have kids in school during the next couple of years. It's important to me," said Gregory, an Orem Internet contractor working with small businesses. "I think there's a dedication factor."

The committee's charge was to "select a broad variety of candidates who possess outstanding professional qualifications relating to the powers and duties of the State Board of Education," the law states.