State K-12, Career and Tech Ed Board Seeks Candidate

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler on Tuesday invited North Dakotans who live in seven eastern counties to seek a pending vacancy on the Board of Public School Education, which oversees K-12 and career and technical education in the state.

An applicant must be a North Dakotan who is eligible to vote and who lives in Barnes, Cass, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson, Steele, or Traill counties.

The person chosen will succeed Levi Bachmeier, a West Fargo resident and the business manager of the city's school district, who was recently appointed as Baesler's successor as superintendent of public instruction. Baesler is resigning as superintendent to become assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education for the U.S. Department of Education in Washington.

Bachmeier's successor will serve the time left on his six-year term, which ends June 30, 2030. Bachmeier will remain on the board as the new superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent is a member by law.

North Dakotans who are interested in the opening may use the governor's website to apply. The application deadline falls at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.

The Board of Public School Education has seven members - the superintendent of public instruction, who serves as the board's executive secretary, and six others who are appointed by the governor for six-year terms. The six represent groups of counties that are specified in state law (NDCC 15.1-01-01).

The Board of Public School Education's 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 six 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.

The governor will appoint Bachmeier's successor from a list of names submitted by a committee made up of the president of North Dakota United, the president of the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, and the president of the North Dakota School Boards Association.

Baesler will transition to her new federal job when the ongoing federal government shutdown ends. She does not plan to resign her state position until she is able to take the job of assistant secretary.