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Utah House Republicans are trying to fix the way state school board members are selected.
But after almost an hour of discussion at a Thursday caucus meeting, lawmakers seemed no closer to a consensus on how to move forward.
"I just want us to do something," said Rep. Dan McCay, R-Riverton. "The one thing I'm not in favor of is [to] do nothing."
The state's school board election process was effectively struck down in September, when U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups concluded the current method of nominating candidates is an unconstitutional infringement on free-speech rights.
Waddoups did not issue a final ruling in the case, which was brought forward by former school board candidates who were denied placement on the ballot.
But legislative attorney Tom Vaughn told GOP lawmakers that failure to adopt a new selection method would likely result in an unfavorable ruling by Waddoups.
"We don't know what that final decision will be, but we've got a pretty good idea which way Judge Waddoups is leaning," Vaughn said.
One proposal, sponsored by McCay, calls for a constitutional amendment to make school board seats appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate — a selection process similar to Utah's Board of Regents.
McCay said the state school board currently exists as a "quasi-fourth branch of government," and an appointment system would place school board members within the checks and balances of the executive and legislative branches.
"By bringing them in line with both [branches], we can now potentially all head in the same direction, which in my opinion is not currently happening," McCay said.
Other proposals include a bill by Provo Republican Rep. Norm Thurston, which would change the system to have local school boards, instead of voters, elect members of the state school board. Another bill by Sen. Alvin Jackson, R-Highland, would make all school boards, both state and local, subject to partisan elections.
But Rep. Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, expressed doubt that a partisan election proposal would pass the Legislature. Similar bills have been sponsored in the past, he said, and each year they have fallen to opposition.
"I've seen the partisan issue come every year and it's died every year," he said.
Gibson also is working on a bill that would make create a direct, non-partisan election for the state school board. But candidates would be required to obtain signatures from residents in the area they serve in order to appear on the ballot.
He figures his legislation is a compromise between those who favor the candidate vetting of the partisan election process and those who object to party politics in school board elections.
"I'm trying to find something that will pass and something that will work," he said.
Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that he hasn't seen all of the proposals, but leans toward a model like the Board of Regents, where the governor appoints members subject to Senate confirmation.
"I think that's a good approach," he said. However, he added that all the proposals he's seen "have merit and there needs to be a robust discussion."
House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he favors the partisan-election option. That would require candidates to go through vetting by party delegates and spur more robust campaigning and communication, he said, which "raises the bar and makes these elections more worthwhile."
So far, only Jackson's bill has had a committee hearing. The Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee approved it Tuesday. It now moves to the full Senate for debate.
— Robert Gehrke contributed to this report