The influence of the nominating committee arises when more than three candidates file for a school board district. The committee pares the number to three, then sends the names to the governor, who chooses two for the election.

Here are details showing how this year's election could be stacked with pro-voucher candidates for the state school board, a board that has opposed vouchers.

Noting that the most fervent charter-school advocates and pro-voucher devotees share many of the same donors and campaign organizations, the five candidates in District 1 include a former charter-school board member, the author of a highly disputed pro-voucher study at Utah State University and an officer of the Cache County Republican Party that supported vouchers.

The five candidates in District 4 include the board chair of a charter school and a former legislator supported by voucher advocates.

The backgrounds of the six candidates in District 7 don't paint a clear picture of their stance on vouchers, although one reportedly was asked to run by one of the stoutest voucher supporters in the Utah Senate.

The seven candidates in District 11 include a former spokesperson for Parents for Choice in Education, the board chairman of a charter school, the communications director for Parents for Choice in Education and the husband of a charter-school founder.

The five candidates in District 12 include the husband of a charter school principal and the wife of a staunch pro-voucher state senator. And the seven candidates in District 13 include a board member of a charter school who also is a trustee of the pro-voucher Children First Utah, the sister of the pro-voucher chairman of the Utah Republican Party and a member of the Utah County Republican Central Committee, which took a strong pro-voucher stand.

The only district in which the committee won't have influence is District 8, which has only two candidates - incumbent Janet Cannon and former high school principal Trent Kaufman.

Meeting of the minds? Since the Legislature created the law allowing charter schools to become part of the public school system several years ago, the State Office of Education has had several challenges ensuring that, as public schools, they adhere to the constitutional requirement of church-state separation.

Liberty Academy originally advertised itself as a "Utah Christian public school." More than one charter school asked students applying for admission to include on the application their baptismal date and what their parents' "callings" were in church.

State school officials are still pondering the practice of renting out the school bus for transportation to LDS seminary by the Paradigm charter school, as well as Eagle Mountain's Maeser Prep renting space owned by the school for LDS seminary classes.

prolly@sltrib.com