Posted by: Mary Stuller
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Public Instruction Superintendent Kirsten Beisler said the recent state convention showed Republicans are out of touch on education.
This year marks the first time Bassler is running for superintendent without formal support from the NDGOP. Although the superintendent position is a nonpartisan position, candidates can seek letters of support from political parties.
NDGOP voted to endorse Basler at endorsement conventions in 2012, 2016 and 2020. This year, delegates overwhelmingly voted in favor of political newcomer Jim Bartlett. Bartlett is a former engineering educator who is active on far-right platforms, including introducing the Ten Commandments in public schools.
If you ask Basler, the NDGOP delegation is too focused on ideological issues that don't affect the daily lives of teachers and students.
“Our convention process is flawed, disenfranchising tens of thousands of Republican voters who can't afford to miss work or school on Friday and spend thousands of dollars to vote in a race. ” Baszler said in an April paper. Statement on the 5th, supported by Mr. Bartlett.
In a resolution passed during its 2023 convention, the party condemned “secularism” in public schools and said the state's K-12 education system “indoctrinates students with political and ideological He said he was promoting “social programs.”
Bassler said in an interview with the North Dakota Monitor that that doesn't happen in public schools. In most cases, what teachers, students and parents really want from public leadership is more support, she said.
Besides Bartlett, two others are in the race to take her spot. Darko Draganic has a background in higher education administration. and Jason Heitkamp, who served as state senator from 2021 to 2022.
None of Baesler's three challengers have previously run for superintendent, and each has big ideas about how to change the administration.
Bartlett's platform includes a commitment to further integrating Christian ideas into the public school system. Heitkamp is running a campaign to simplify K-12 education, focusing on subjects such as writing, math, civics, health and fitness. Meanwhile, Draganic said he wants to reduce bureaucracy in the Ministry of Public Instruction.
Asked how he would promote himself to North Dakota voters, Bassler said he would list his accomplishments in the job.
“I talk about my accomplishments,” she said from her tidy office on the 11th floor of the Capitol.
On the shelf next to Baesler's desk are several apple-themed knick-knacks, and on the wall is a sticker that reads, “How are the kids doing?” — A reference to the traditional greeting of the Maasai, an indigenous tribe of Kenya and Tanzania. Baszler said the greeting resonates with her because it allows her to put children at the center of her work, rather than “big man issues.”
Baszler was first elected in 2012, replacing Wayne Sunstead, who held the position for more than 25 years.
Prior to becoming Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mr. Beisler worked for the North Dakota State Board of Education, served on the Mandan Public Schools Board, and also worked for Bismarck Public Schools.
Among her accomplishments as superintendent, she established a teacher apprenticeship program, reduced the size of the Department of Public Instruction by about 20%, and created an online dashboard to help North Dakotans understand how their public schools are funded. I'm thinking.
It's a job that is somewhat misunderstood by the public, Basler said. She pointed out that North Dakota's constitution gives the Legislature the power to decide what the superintendent can and cannot do.
Because of these parameters, Beisler said, the superintendent doesn't actually have the ability to carry out some of his opponents' more ambitious ideas for overhauling North Dakota's public education. Ta.
Property taxes are another issue on which Bassler disagrees with many Republicans. Some members of the party support abolishing property taxes based on the appraised value of real estate. But Beisler opposes the move, arguing that eliminating property taxes would give local communities less control over how their education is funded.
“You have less skin in the game and less flexibility for local parcels,” she said.
Bassler is a proponent of school choice, which generally refers to the idea that the state should finance alternatives to standard K-12 public education, including private schools, That could include charter schools, magnet schools, and even homeschooling.
This is one of the key areas where she aligns with the state Republican Party. Among the resolutions approved by delegates at the recent convention was a resolution to promote school choice.
According to Baesler, providing students with a more customized school experience will make them more engaged in their education and better prepared for the career path they choose after high school.
Bassler publicly supported an amendment adopted during the 2023 session that would ease certain K-12 open enrollment regulations.
She did not take a position on another 2023 bill that would seek to subsidize a portion of tuition for certain families who want to send their children to private K-12 schools. The proposal passed both chambers, but Gov. Doug Burgum vetoed it, saying it didn't go far enough to expand school choice and that it didn't do enough to ensure the funds were used responsibly. He said there was a lack of balance.
Other critics of the bill objected to the idea that public funds would benefit private entities.
Bassler said her office does not take a position on the bill because it rarely supports or opposes it.
“My swim lane is advising,” she said.