Darko Draganic (L), Jason Heitkamp (C), Jim Bartlett (R)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – At least three North Dakotans intend to challenge incumbent Kirsten Baesler for superintendent of public instruction on the election ballot this year – Jim Bartlett, a homeschooling proponent who previously worked as an engineering educator; Darko Draganic, a former higher education administrator; and Jason Heitkamp, who served in the state Senate from 2021 to 2022.
Superintendent of public instruction is a nonpartisan position. To officially join the race, candidates must file the required paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office, including a petition with at least 300 valid signatures, by April 8.
Baesler and Draganic were the only candidates who had cleared those hurdles as of Friday afternoon, according to the state agency’s website.
The two candidates who receive the most votes in the June 11 primary will proceed to the general election.
Jim Bartlett
Bartlett, who announced his plans to run on Feb. 2, said his ultimate goal is to have public education be purely a local affair — which means all funding and all decision-making would happen at the community level.
As a starting place, Bartlett said he would give parents more power over what their kids learn.
“I think there’s a huge gap on what parents want and what teachers say the parents want, or what administrators are giving to parents,” he said in a Tuesday interview with the North Dakota Monitor.
If elected, he would work to eliminate the need for a superintendent of public instruction.
“You keep the door shut and bad agendas out, and that’s all you need to do until the Legislature can say this position isn’t needed,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett described himself as a Reformed Christian and supports reintegrating Christian ideas about education back into the public school system.
A resident of Bottineau, his background includes teaching engineering at North Dakota State University and working with the National Science Foundation, according to a news release from his campaign. He holds professional degrees in engineering, and served as executive director of the North Dakota Homeschool Association from the mid-2000s into the early 2010s. Today, Bartlett and his family are also involved in organic farming.
While superintendent is a nonpartisan office, Bartlett said he intends to seek support from the North Dakota Republican Party first, then reach out to the Democratic-NPL Party as well.
Darko Draganic
Draganic, a former administrator for the University of Mary and United Tribes Technical College, said he’s running to address what he characterized as inadequate pay for teachers, an overly bureaucratic education system and lagging student performance.
“I’ve been a bit frustrated as a private citizen about the direction of our K-12 system,” Draganic said.
The Bismarck resident holds a bachelor’s degree in technology and a master’s in information systems, and started his career in data science. He took a job as the University of Mary’s director of student retention in 2017, a position he credits for sparking his passion for education. After two years, he moved to United Tribes Technical College, where he served as health and wellness director before becoming the school’s dean of enrollment.
Draganic said that when he was at both institutions, the University of Mary reported its highest-ever student retention and the United Tribes Technical College reported its highest-ever enrollment, respectively.
He left the college at the end of last year to focus on his campaign.
Draganic said if elected, one of his priorities would be increasing pay for teachers.
“We don’t necessarily need more money in the system,” he said. “We just need to make sure that money is being divvied up in a way that’s more equitable.”
He also hopes to reduce bureaucracy in the Department of Public Instruction, which he said could be key to addressing problems like declining high school graduation rates, a lack of college readiness among students and worsening math and English scores. Draganic said he wants to see parents more involved in school governance, too.
The self-described Republican said this is the first time he’s ever run for public office. Draganic said his campaign will be entirely self-funded.
Jason Heitkamp
Heitkamp, of Wyndmere, formerly served as a Republican state senator for District 26 from 2021-2022. He ran for District 25 of the House of Representatives in 2022, losing the Republican primary to Cindy Schreiber-Beck and Kathy Skroch.
Heitkamp has also served on the Richland County Commission, Bottineau City Council and Prairie Rose City Council.
He said he originally intended to run for reelection to the Richland County Commission this election cycle, but decided to run for superintendent because he feels the education system is particularly in need of reform.
“I can’t let somebody get into there who’s not going to have the backbone to do the right thing, because this is not going to be easy,” he said.
In a Feb. 1 campaign announcement, Heitkamp said his priorities for office are decreasing (and eventually getting rid of) property taxes, improving teachers’ pay and retirement plans and refocusing K-12 curriculum to center on reading, writing and math and civics, health and fitness.
“We’re going back to the basics,” he said.
Heitkamp said he has a diverse occupational background, which includes working as a truck driver, farmer, insurance salesman and EMT.
Kirsten Baesler
Baesler has been North Dakota’s superintendent of public instruction since 2013, succeeding Wayne Sanstead in office.
“We have accomplished much at the Department of Public Instruction, but there is still important work to be done,” Baesler said in a Jan. 10 news release. “I will be asking North Dakotans for another four years to continue working for our students and families, supporting our school teachers, and ensuring our taxpayers’ substantial investment in education is spent wisely.”
The announcement cited the following as achievements of Baesler’s tenure:
- Increasing the number of students graduating “Choice Ready,” the department’s criteria for determining if students are prepared for life after high school;
- Creating of a school board training program;
- Requiring computer science and cybersecurity education; and
- Reducing the size of the Department of Public Instruction.
Before becoming superintendent of public instruction, Baesler worked at Bismarck Public Schools, for the North Dakota School Boards Association and on the Mandan Public School Board. The state Republican Party has in the past issued letters of support for Baesler.
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