House Majority Leader Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, denounced the power the board took upon itself in recent voucher disputes, saying it was ineffective when the board refused to implement a voucher law contained in HB174. The board went against the advice of the attorney general and instead waited for the Supreme Court to rule on whether the bill should be implemented or wait until voters decide on vouchers in November.

"There is not intended to be a concentration of power in the school board," he said. "There is no process to change a statute that exists outside the legislative government." He said the board should have gone to the Legislature to have voucher issues clarified, rather than try to write their own interpretations into rule.

The Utah Constitution states that "general control and supervision of the public education system shall be vested in a State Board of Education." Gregory said he believes the board is therefore accountable to the people, and "clearly accountable to the judicial system and well, we're accountable to just about everybody," he said, adding that there is "tension" and ambiguity for a reason — to encourage open discussion.

The dispute over the state board's role remains, but Sen. Gregory Bell, R-Davis, said the assumption among legislators is that "the school board has an executive capacity and can implement policy that is determined by and funded by the Legislature."

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