A smattering of these worked as stepping stones to where the state is now: on the brink of overhauling high school graduation requirements and creating a system based on competency instead of grades or seat-time.

Perhaps they best represent Leavitt's seeds for improvement.

But there are several questions as to what, if anything, Utah schools have reaped.

Centennial schools

Whether you had children or not, chances are you've seen the governor's early 1990's "Centennial Schools" initiative, emblazoned on banners strewn across the fa�ades of 394 Utah schools.

The idea of doling out $15.3 million in grants over a four-year period was to encourage communities to get involved in their schools and do something unique in education.

It was popular with the public. But large-scale accomplishments are questionable.

USU's West, for instance, says he was hard-pressed at the time to tell the difference between Centennial and non-Centennial schools.

"I can only speak for myself," said principal Rob Stillwell, whose Snowcrest Junior High in Weber County was a Centennial school that received extra funds as one of 10 Utah "Modified Centennial Schools." "But I think the schools that were able to put ideas in place sustained (the efforts). But the schools that bought things? They went away when the money did."

A 1996 state audit found some of the money going toward questionable programs, including forming a bowling league. Leavitt conceded Centennial schools didn't turn out as imagined.

Hindsight, however, is different.

"In those billions spent (in education under his tenure), you'll find other good ideas (that) exceeded expectations in some ways," Leavitt said.

Indeed, Snowcrest created educational reform with its Centennial money.

It created goals for what kids needed to know and do to be successful at the next level. Students earning below a C grade received tutoring after school and in the summertime until they could meet the standards. On-track students were rewarded with enrichment activities and field trips.

Initially, 34 percent of students received grades below a C, former principal Carl Bruce said. At the height of the program, that number fell to less than 10 percent.

Such innovation helped lead to Leavitt's next big thing.

Charter schools

In 1998, under Leavitt's prompting, the Utah Legislature created charter schools: public schools run by their own boards, often consisting of parents and teachers, as Snowcrest had in place.