8-year term in Jordan?

Five Jordan Board of Education incumbents are getting extended terms. One will serve eight years without having to face voters, and 31 challengers are about to be sent packing because of a brand new law on splitting school districts.

That's according to a Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office opinion on the effects of SB71. The opinion was sought by Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, who shared it with the Deseret Morning News Friday.

Letting people elected to a four-year term serve up to twice as long is perhaps unprecedented.

"I've never seen it," Swensen said. "This is an unusual case."

It's a byproduct of the law that SB71 sponsor Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, didn't anticipate.

Nor did candidate Roy Harward, who was challenging school board President J. Dale Christensen. Christensen's term will be extended another four years, to eight, under the new law.

"I just don't think it's right. Basically, he has a longer term as a school board (member) than any other office in the land," Harward said. "That doesn't sound like it's very reasonable."

Christensen could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

The Jordan Board of Education race is unprecedented on many levels.

It's the first after Utah's premiere school district division. Voters on June 24 will elect two new seven-member school boards: One, for the new east-side Jordan District; one, for the remaining west-side Jordan District.

One hundred people threw their hats into the ring for those 14 seats — an interest atypical of school board races, where people often run unopposed.

And now, SB71, mixed with Salt Lake County Council action, ensures this will be one for the record books.

The bill makes it so the current Jordan Board of Education will automatically get seats on the new east- and west-side school boards without having to run for re-election, Jason S. Rose, deputy district attorney in the civil division, said in his opinion about SB71.

Legislators were trying to keep some institutional knowledge on the brand new boards.

But when the candidate filing window opened March 7, the governor had not signed the bill. That stroke of a pen came a week later.

So, Swensen urged anyone who wanted to run for the school boards to file, just in case.

But now, it's clear no one can challenge the incumbents for at least another two years.

"For those candidates that have filed to run in either the new east-side district or the remaining west-side district, SB71 effectively eliminates the election in those precincts that house a current school board member," the opinion states.