Now, the fight is at the Utah Board of Education, which has the authority to expand the charter school agenda in Utah and could even tweak the current Carson Smith law to help vouchers creep into the educational structure of the state.

At the very least, the right kinds of changes in makeup of the school board that previously threw its weight against vouchers could turn a powerful foe into an influential friend if the issue happens to resurface in the Legislature.

Some clever manipulations are going on behind the scenes by legislative leaders not willing to give up the voucher fight. They are aided by a distracted governor too busy earning his stripes in John McCain's presidential campaign to pay much attention to the goings-on in Utah.

The shell game began in 2002 (before Jon Huntsman Jr. was governor), when the Legislature changed the system of selecting state school board candidates from having 15 nominating committees - one for each school board seat - to one central committee that would select three nominees in each district and send them to the governor, who would narrow the choice to two for the general election ballot.

The law requires that of the 12-member selection committee, six will represent the industries of manufacturing and mining; transportation and public utilities; service, trade and information technology; finance, insurance and real estate; construction; and agriculture. The remaining six will represent education interests, including one from charter schools.

The governor appoints the committee, but a look at its makeup suggests heavy input from legislative leaders. All of the business representatives on the committee are lobbyists, beholden to the Legislature. In fact, some of the members were among the lobbyists summoned by legislative leaders last year to help them defeat the anti-voucher referendum.

Of the education representatives, there is a charter school advocate and at least one lobbyist. The chairman of the nominating committee is Jeff Alexander, a former majority leader in the House with close ties to the pro-voucher community.

There was a flurry of last-minute filings this year, with all of the seven districts in play having more than three candidates. That means the committee will choose three names to send to the governor in each district. And in each district, there are several candidates with obvious ties to the voucher groups.

The committee four years ago eliminated popular school board incumbent Michael Anderson, so the voters didn't even have a say in re-electing him. There are several incumbents up for re-election this year. If they don't get past the committee, then you'll know. There is something foul brewing in the palace.

prolly@sltrib.com