Following Gov. Doug Burgum’s budget address to the organizational session of the 2021 North Dakota Legislature on Thursday, State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler had these observations:
“I am pleased that our per-student payments are held at their current levels. The state has again demonstrated that K-12 education is a priority.”
“During his entire administration, Governor Burgum has been a stalwart friend to K-12 education. Both he and our state legislators want what is best for our North Dakota students and their families. We will study the governor’s plan with that in mind.
“The pandemic has been difficult for our schools, but it has also inspired many ideas about how we can improve in providing education. We look forward to having many meaningful conversations about making education better in the North Dakota Legislature, which is the people’s forum.
“We are working with legislators on some ideas, including a bill to encourage instruction in civic education and patriotism in our schools. We North Dakotans sometimes forget that our own state Constitution says our public schools are needed to encourage a `high degree of intelligence, patriotism, integrity, and morality on the part of every voter.’”