Hillyard wants to see a partisan process for selecting state school board members

During their latest session, Utah legislators debated several bills that would change the way members of the Utah State Board of Education are elected. At the present time some of the 15-member board are elected by district while others are appointed by the governor.

State Senator Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, says a change will soon have to be made because the court has ruled that the preset method is not acceptable.

He says if elections are held there is the question of whether they should be partisan or non-partisan. He has personally concluded they should probably be partisan.

“There needs to be a vetting system,” says Hillyard. “I think anyone who runs for the office needs to go through some process of being vetted.”

Hillyard says the best process for that to take place is through the caucus system that is already established.

“If I run for re-election I have to go out and meet 120 state delegates and they have to talk to me, they can ask me questions one-on-one and they make a decision,” he continues. “They were, in theory, elected by their caucus to represent their caucus. So they know what issues are important to their people.”

Hillyard says a lot of people believe the number of state school board members needs to be reduced.

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