Herbert picks BYU professor for school board

Gov. Gary Herbert has chosen BYU science professor Craig Coleman to fill the empty District 3 seat on the State Board of Education. The move supersedes the nomination of Michael Clarke Johnsen, a former Tooele School District superintendent who was recommended for the post by former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Coleman, 51, of Genola, was endorsed Monday by the Senate Education Confirmation Committee and will be considered for Senate confirmation at its interim session on Nov. 18. The District 3 seat represents Tooele County and a part of Utah County.

"I'm surprised and honored," said Coleman, who was elected last week as a town councilman in Genola. "I represent the interest of parents with schoolchildren. I have no particular agenda."

Coleman, if confirmed, will replace Richard Moss who left the board to take a job in Arizona. He will serve through the end of 2010. The four-year seat will be up for election in November of next year.

Johnsen, 64, is a Stansbury Park resident with 40 years of experience in teaching and school administration. He retired in July. Huntsman nominated Johnsen in March, but the appointment was never considered by the Senate.

Johnsen told the Deseret News Tuesday he is disappointed with the turn of events. He has attended several board meetings since his nomination to prepare.

"I wanted to serve," John?sen said. "And the governor (Huntsman) asked me to."

Johnsen said it's suspicious it took the Senate so long to confirm a name. He believes the Senate committee deliberately dragged its feet. "They horsed around all spring and summer. Don't tell me they couldn't call a meeting," he said. "That's pretty peculiar."

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who chairs the confirmation committee, said the committee didn't receive the official green light for Huntsman's appointee until May, too late for the May Senate committee meeting. "There is a formal process," Bramble said.

There was some hold-up due to Moss sending a letter to the Senate committee decrying, along with others, the process through which Johnsen was nominated. Moss believes there should have been a larger pool of candidates. Johnsen was recommended to Huntsman by Christine Kearl, the former governor's education director, and was chosen for his public education background.

Bramble said committee members weren't available in June and July. In August, Herbert replaced Huntsman, who resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China. According to legislative legal counsel, a governor's nominations terminate upon his resignation.

"It was simply a matter of logistics," Bramble said.