The Paul Rolly column and Lisa Schenker article containing information about State School Board District 8

These are the two articles Trent Kaufman referenced in his radio interview last week. I am underlining the bit in Rolly's column about State School Board District 8, and inserting a bracket in bold halfway through Schenker's article where the information about Kaufman begins.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8941295
Rolly: Pro-voucher candidates pack races
By Paul Rolly
Tribune Columnist
Article Last Updated: 04/16/2008 06:34:10 AM MDT

In Monday's column, I noted the influence of the lobbyist-laden
nominating committee beholden to legislative leadership, and how that
group has much say over which State School Board candidates will
appear on the ballot.
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


http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10367623
State Board of Education: A new name may go on ballot for school board
Candidate Ted Heap's failure to file a financial disclosure raises the possibility, officials say
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 09/03/2008 12:02:09 AM MDT

One candidate for Utah State Board of Education is out of the race, which could leave room for someone who didn't make the ballot, according to the Lt. Governor's Office.
District 11 candidate Ted Heap did not file a campaign financial disclosure report by the deadline Tuesday, meaning he is out of the race, said Mark Thomas, office administrator at the Lt. Governor's Office. Thomas said it's his understanding that Heap purposefully didn't file, but he didn't know why.
Attempts to reach Heap for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. Thomas said his office is now looking into how another candidate might be chosen to appear on the ballot.
Six candidates filed to run for the District 11 seat, but Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. chose only two to appear on the ballot after a governor-appointed committee narrowed the field. The committee and governor chose Heap and Dave Crandall over the other four candidates, including incumbent Bill Colbert.
Heap has worked as a developer and a U.S. Air Force Intelligence Analyst. Crandall serves as chairman of the Summit Academy charter school board and works for a Sandy consulting company.
Colbert said he is interested in serving longer on the board if he's asked.
The governor-appointed committee, however, ranked Colbert second to last among the six candidates. The next highest ranked candidate after Crandall and Heap was Ralph Haws, chairman of the Jordan School District's west-side transition team. Haws said he is still interested in appearing on the ballot for state board.
[KAUFMAN INFO STARTS HERE.]
Financial disclosures due Tuesday also showed that one candidate has pulled far ahead of the others in terms of money raised.
Trent Kaufman has already raised $7,939 for his District 8 race against incumbent Janet Cannon. That's more than 13 times as much as any of the other 12 candidates for school board had raised as of Tuesday. Most state board candidates haven't raised more than $15.
"The amount I've raised is not quite yet, but close to, commensurate with how serious I am about the need for change on the school board," Kaufman said.
So far, nine of Kaufman's 18 contributors live outside of Utah and $1,344 is Kaufman's own money. Kaufman said all those out-of-state contributors are friends, former co-workers and/or family. He said none of them donated because of vouchers. Kaufman said as far as he's concerned the voucher issue is "off the table."
Kaufman is a former teacher and principal with a master's degree in educational leadership. He said he's also a doctoral candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education in education policy.
Cannon has not yet raised any money to campaign for her seat, according to the disclosure reports. She could not be reached Tuesday for comment.