State Superintendent outlines K‑12 budget priorities, highlights data modernization and reading reforms

Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction, told the Senate Appropriations Committee that House Bill 10‑13 is best understood as the K‑12 education appropriation bill, covering the student aid foundation formula, the Department of Public Instruction’s operations and several state education institutions and services.

Baesler opened by describing the department’s scope: 83 DPI staff, 168 school districts and roughly 135,115 students statewide. “My name is Kirsten Baesler. I'm the State Superintendent for the Department of Public Instruction,” she said when introduced.

Why it matters: the committee received an overview of how funding is delivered to local districts, program priorities that state dollars support, and the metrics DPI uses to measure progress — information the Appropriations Committee will use as it considers House Bill 10‑13.

Major program priorities and outcomes

- Delivery and scale: Baesler said roughly 98% of House Bill 10‑13 would be delivered to school districts, with about 2% for DPI’s agency operations (roughly $58 million on the agency side in the current numbers she showed). - Student outcomes: Baesler highlighted improvements in the “choice‑ready” metric that counts readiness for college, work or the military;…