School officials want someone to help them make sense out of two school voucher statutes that lawmakers - and a public referendum - have twisted into a tangle of competing legal opinions and threatened lawsuits. Conservative legislators, on the other hand, are desperate to get their private school subsidy program up and running before voters can second-guess them in November.
The attorney general has been pulled into the mess as the official legal mind of the state.
And this week, that legal mind veered toward self-preservation when Shurtleff fired off a fatherly missive to State Board of Education Chairman Kim Burningham and his colleagues. In a letter animated with boldface type and punctuated by an exclamation point, Utah's top lawyer said, essentially: Enough with the questions. Just do what I say.
Very paternal. But not very helpful. It doesn't work with teenagers. And apparently it won't work with recalcitrant state school board members, either. They also happen to be elected to represent everyone in the state.
"He doesn't have any authority to tell the board what to do," says Jean Hill, a State Office of Education attorney.
Two weeks ago, school board members raised legitimate concerns - outlined in 25 questions sent to the attorney general - about implementing the second of the voucher bills when the first could be overturned at the ballot box next fall. They asked his advice on everything from legal strategy to practical details.
But Shurtleff, whose children attend a charter school, brushed all 25 questions off as so much fluff and sided with lawmakers - the ones who determine his take-home pay and office budget and wanted to give out vouchers years ago. Answers will come later, he says, once the board gets the program going.
Provoked by Burningham asking him to prove his "zeal and undivided loyalty" by drafting a sample lawsuit - a sort of tryout for the job of representing the board - Shurtleff obviously got a little tweaked.
"I and my attorneys provide our best analyses and legal opinions based on the law and not on friendships or public opinion," he wrote.
Voucher supporters are delighted by this "my legal authority is bigger than your legal authority" debate. But school board members aren't backing down simply because Shurtleff says so. They're considering hiring their own independent attorney.
"We didn't just make up 25 questions," says Hill. "He's not representing the board; he's representing the Legislature. It's pretty clear the attorney general can no longer represent us."
Everyone expects a series of lawsuits to sort this all out. And Shurtleff's "I'm the boss of you" claim gives those judges one more question to consider.
It will all go to court a little quicker perhaps, with Shurtleff's snub, but certainly not cheaper.
walsh@sltrib.com
