Local input on candidates for school board sought

Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake City, wants the old days back when there was more local input in the task of selecting candidates for the State Board of Education.

Hale got an earful from parents on the subject during her travels throughout the state last year.

"This is one of the biggest concerns," Hale told the Senate Standing Education Committee on Friday.

The committee voted 3-2 to advance Hale's SB155, which proposes to allow 15 different committees to represent as many state board districts in Utah. Each district represents one or more of the state's 40 school districts.

Under the present law, which was changed two years ago, one committee now represents the entire state. Its members can come from six different business and industry sectors while the other six members are chosen to represent teachers, school administrators, parents, school boards, charter schools and higher education.

Lawmakers last session balked at two bills that proposed changing that law.

This year, Rep. James Ferrin, D-Orem, is also sponsoring a bill that proposes partisan elections for State Board candidates. Under his bill, midterm vacancies on the board would be filled by including nominations from political parties. Ferrin's HB61 has not yet made it to a committee.

Hale's bill would also reduce the number of nominating and recruiting committee members from 12 to eight and the number of years they serve from two to one. Committee appointments would come from the governor.

Nominating and recruiting committee members under SB155 would consist of one from a local school board, one employee or administrator from a school district, one teacher and one member of a parent association that supports public schools.

The remaining four members would represent business and industry interests such as manufacturing, public utilities, information technology and real estate.

After Friday's meeting, Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, who voted against Hale's bill, sat with Hale to go over ways to make SB155 more palatable.

Madsen indicated he might support an amended version that still includes having 15 committees, but the number of members, the areas of interest they represent and the number of years they would serve might stay the same as the law states now.

Tom Bingham, president of the Utah Manufacturers Association, and Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, both wanted to give the current law a chance to work.

Half of the current state board was put in place by a statewide nominating committee.

---

E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com