Position still open for Board Of Public School Education

(KNOX) – State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler on Wednesday said applications have been reopened for a vacancy on the state Board of Public School Education, which oversees K-12 and career and technical education in the state.

An applicant must be an eligible North Dakota voter, a member of a North Dakota school board, and a resident of one of eight counties: Burleigh, Stutsman, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, McLean, Sheridan, and Wells.

The person chosen will succeed former board member Burdell Johnson, who resigned in August. His successor will serve the time left on Johnson’s term, which ends June 30, 2026.

North Dakotans who live in Burleigh, Stutsman, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, McLean, Sheridan, and Wells counties are encouraged to use the governor’s website to apply for a position on the board. The application deadline is at 5 p.m. Central time on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.

An earlier application period was announced in August, but it failed to attract a candidate who met the requirement of being a school board member. So, the process is being reopened, Baesler said.

The Board of Public School Education has seven members, who are appointed by the governor for six-year terms. Its members are part of the state Board of Career and Technical Education, which supervises North Dakota’s Department of Career and Technical Education and its programs.

The board also oversees North Dakota’s seven regional education associations and the North Dakota K-12 Education Coordination Council, which encourages collaboration among education stakeholders, supports education innovation initiatives, and makes policy recommendations to the state Legislature.

The Board of Public School Education’s primary work involves deciding school district requests to transfer property, reorganize, or dissolve. It normally meets 10 times a year. Six of the board’s members each represent groups of counties that are specified in state law. Baesler is the board’s seventh member and its executive secretary.

State law requires that eligible applications be reviewed by the presidents of North Dakota United, the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, and the North Dakota School Boards Association. The committee will submit a list of names for the governor to consider for appointment.