2024 ND Governor's race: on Education

Rick Becker: Education Empowerment Program: reimburse private schools

Established an Education Empowerment Program administered by the Department of Public Instruction that would reimburse parents of children attending public or private schools for instructional or therapeutic needs (e.g., assistance with dyslexia schooling, additional courses otherwise unavailable).

Rick Becker: Displaying the Ten Commandments OK in schools

Kelly Armstrong: Best workforce recruitment tool is our higher ed system

Piepkorn agreed, pointing out that with state support in recent years, businesses have been expanding apprenticeships and paid internships to students. He added local unions have ramped up their apprenticeship training programs geared toward younger workers to get them into high-paying career fields sooner.

Armstrong said he doesn't have the "silver bullet" to fix complicated workforce issues, but addressing housing, health care and educational needs would be a good start to drawing more potential to the state. "I don't know if we can handle $2 billion economic development with no plan to build housing and no plan to recruit employees," Armstrong said. "It doesn't do North Dakota any good if that new business is poaching from existing businesses when you already have 15,000 to 30,000 open jobs."

Kelly Armstrong: Supports school choice, but not vouchers

[Republican U.S. Rep. Kelly] Armstrong said he believes in school choice but doesn't think vouchers would be a good approach because private schools could raise their tuition to take advantage of the new state money. "It doesn't need to be either-or," Armstrong said. "We can fund our public school system and we can have the best public school system in the country, and we can still allow for significantly more parental autonomy in school choice."

Merrill Piepkorn: Expand apprenticeships and paid internships to students

Piepkorn agreed, pointing out that with state support in recent years, businesses have been expanding apprenticeships and paid internships to students. "Our Legislature does not always put as high a priority on higher education as we two gubernatorial candidates do," Piepkorn said. He added local unions have ramped up their apprenticeship training programs geared toward younger workers to get them into high-paying career fields sooner.

Armstrong said he doesn't have the "silver bullet" to fix complicated workforce issues, but addressing housing, health care and educational needs would be a good start to drawing more potential to the state.

Merrill Piepkorn: Would have vetoed the state's book banning bills

Piepkorn said he would have vetoed the state's book banning bills and the state's abortion ban. "In some of these things, they are making an issue out of things that are not an issue," Piepkorn said. "I think some of these things are being brought into the Legislature from outside sources, national organizations, who have pinpointed the Legislature to carry forth this agenda." He said in the year since the book banning bill went into effect, only one complaint was made against one book, after it was reviewed by the library board, the book remained in the children's section.

Merrill Piepkorn: Money for vouchers means less money for public education

[Republican U.S. Rep. Kelly] Armstrong said he believes in school choice but doesn't think vouchers would be a good approach because private schools could raise their tuition to take advantage of the new state money. "It doesn't need to be either-or," Armstrong said. "We can fund our public school system and we can have the best public school system in the country, and we can still allow for significantly more parental autonomy in school choice."