The state school board oversees the state's 29 school districts and makes decisions about most everything that affects Utah schoolchildren, from what and how they study to what they eat for school lunch. That means the choice of board member candidates should not be tainted by special interests. But, under the current system, it could be.

First, all the people who file for open seats among the state's 15 school board districts (seven positions are up for election this year; 37 people have filed as candidates) are assessed by a 12-member nominating committee appointed by the governor.

The committee chooses from three to five candidates for each district - traditionally three - and sends their names to the governor, who pares the list to two. Their names appear on the November ballot. If there are three or fewer candidates for any position, all their names go to the governor.

At this point, finally, the voters get to weigh in.

This system of producing an "elected" state board is ripe for manipulation by individuals or groups that have a vested interest in putting board members in place who agree with their political, religious or social views.

From 1994 to 2004, nominees were selected by 15 local committees, one for each district, who were more familiar with local issues and local candidates. We believe that system was more fair and less open to manipulation than the current one, although it was no more democratic.

This year some in the public-education community are concerned about political payback for their opposition to a private-school voucher law passed by the 2007 Legislature. They believe the nominating committee may be weighted too heavily with voucher advocates who might support candidates because they share their views. We hope that is not the case, but there is precedent to support their concern.

In 2004, the year that a new law abolishing the 15 local nominating committees went into effect, the new statewide committee failed to nominate a popular incumbent, Michael Anderson, who had won the seat with 68 percent of the vote, and Mossi White, a respected and knowledgable former president of the National School Boards Association.

State law says the nominating committee should be composed of six people representing all facets of the business community and six representing parents, teachers, school administrators, local school boards, charter schools and higher education. Gov. Jon Huntsman could also use the criterion of voucher support or opposition, but that would be shortsighted. There are myriad education issues that have nothing to do with vouchers.

The law also requires the committee to choose a "broad variety of candidates who possess outstanding professional qualifications relating to the powers and duties" of the state board, including experience in business and/or education.

Board members' top priority should be what's best for students as they cast votes on everything from curriculum to testing. There is no place on the board for people primarily interested in their own pet issues.