The three The three Republican incumbents in District 37 are facing Democratic challengers. District 37 is in Dickinson.

Senate

Name: Chad Berger

Home: Dickinson

Age:23

Occupation: Student

Political party: Democrat-NPL

Name: Rich Wardner

Home:Dickinson

Age: 64

Occupation: Retired educator: 32 years; currently executive director of the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce

Political party: Republican

Prior public offices held: State representative, 1990-98; state senator, 1998-2006

What is the key issue motivating your campaign?

Berger:The cost of college tuition - it's too high. It's been the biggest issue of the campaign for me.

Wardner:Keep the economy moving in a positive direction. A growing economy provides the resources and funding we need to provide adequate funding for K-12 education, higher education, human services, and to increase the pay of state employees. An economy that is growing creates new high paying jobs that in turn help keep our young people in the state while aiding in the recruitment of new talent from other parts of the country.

There's a proposal for putting more than 60 million new dollars into the budget for the state's public colleges and universities, and, thereby, holding the tuition increase to 5 percent. Do you support this proposal?

Berger:The $60 million is a start. I don't think it's sufficient. We need to put limits on tuition increases. The $60 million would come from the budget surplus; we need a long-term solution to the problem.

Wardner:I support 60 million new dollars for higher education if the dollars are there and the increase is sustainable.

Yes, we have an ending fund balance that is way above expectations; however, we need to remember that the state's cost of doing business has increased due to increases in energy costs and inflation. Second, the Legislature needs to determine what part of the windfall is "one-time" revenue and what part is sustainable revenue. Third, the Legislature needs to look at the needs of K-12 education, human services, corrections, state employee salaries and other budgets, and then appropriate to each in a fair and equitable manner.

I would support more than $60 million if dollars are there and sustainable.

There's a proposal for putting more than 60 million new dollars into funding for primary and secondary education, in response to a lawsuit over funding equity filed by a number of North Dakota school districts. Do you support this proposal?

Berger:The more money we can get into public education the better. The better we fund education, the more opportunties there will be in the state. And if we can give them dollars from the surplus this year, we won't have to raise property taxes for schools.

Wardner:I do support this proposal. It does three things: One, it moves the state in the right direction in funding K-12 education; two, funding can help the local districts in lowering property taxes; and three, it keeps the state out of a lawsuit. If more dollars are available and they are sustainable, I would support increasing the $60 million.

House

Name:Nancy Johnson

Home:Dickinson

Age:56

Occupation: Homemaker, retired teacher

Political party:Republican

Prior political office held:N.D. House, first elected in 1998, Dickinson School Board member - 1984-99

Name:Cornelius "Connie" Kooren

Home:Dickinson

Age: 63

Occupation: Retired as a manager of a major business; works out of the home doing outside sales of drive-under feed bins for Steffes Corp.

Political party: Democrat-NPL

Name: Stuart Savelkoul

Home: Dickinson

Age: 24

Occupation: Housing coordinator at Dickinson State University

Political party: Democrat-NPL

Name: Francis J. Wald

Home: Dickinson

Age: 71

Occupation: Insurance broker

Political party: Republican

Prior public office held:13 terms in the N.D. House of Representatives, speaker of the House in the 1999 session

What is the key issue motivating your campaign?

Johnson: My key motivation for this campaign is to continue policies that provide for solid economic growth. Quality policies that allow businesses to prosper also provide job opportunities for all of our citizens. They create a larger tax base so our state has more tax dollars to provide services for our citizens; services like good schools, affordable college opportunities, services for our vulnerable and aging population, as well as good roads and other infrastructures. Our last biennium's surplus came about partially because of increased energy output, but also because other segments of the economy were also doing well.

Kooren: My key issue is education funding and its effect upon property taxes in my district.

During the 2002-03 school year, we saw, for the first time in our state's history, that local sources (property taxes) for education funding on a statewide basis provided more funding to general fund operations at our schools than state funding allocations provided. We in the Dickinson School District received 51 percent of our funding from the state, rather than the 41 percent which is the statewide average. The Dickinson district received a greater percentage because it has the administration, teachers and facilities to provide additional services to vocational, and physically and mentally challenged students. The participation in these programs, by a larger than normal number of students in a district, added the additional funding.

Savelkoul: Outmigration. North Dakota understands the value of an educated population. Because of this, millions of your tax dollars are invested every year maintaining a first-class education system. However, when our high school and college graduates leave our state, we are left with a failed investment. North Dakota must find a way to curb out-migration. With the baby boomer generation nearing retirement and our younger generations leaving North Dakota, we may be just a decade away from a very serious tax crisis.

Wald:My seniority and being the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, I have a seat at the table when spending decisions are finalized. This is important to Dickinson's interests and future.

There's a proposal for putting more than 60 million new dollars into the budget for the state's public colleges and universities and, thereby, holding the tuition increase to 5 percent. Do you support this proposal?

Johnson: Education is important to me and to all of our state's citizens. Keeping tuition affordable is important. It is also important that we get students into the right career paths. In my past life, I was a vocational teacher. I know that not every student requires a four-year degree. It would be wonderful if we could help students see the advantages of our two-year programs in the trades. We in North Dakota are in a good situation where we have a great need for quality workers in many segments of our economy. The opportunities are tremendous. If we in the Legislature can help keep tuition costs low, we can help more students get the education they need for a positive future.

Kooren: Yes, the higher education budget from the state general fund needs additional dollars. The State Board of Higher Education had originally proposed adding $63 million to the budget from the general fund. In its statement, the state board indicated the increase would allow the tuition to be held to a 5 percent increase. As we review the budget for higher education and the handling of its budgets through the new system of administration, the Legislature needs to have some input into the process to be able to judge whether the administrative actions and new programs that are introduced into our colleges are maintaining college tuition at affordable rates for our students. In a recent article, North Dakota college students were listed as graduating with the third-highest debt load in the country. This is of major concern.

Savelkoul: Absolutely. Not only is keeping our college tuition affordable a key to keeping the future of North Dakota in North Dakota, but our colleges and universities do a fantastic job of recruiting people from out of state to assist with our depopulation problem.

Wald: I strongly support holding tuition increases to a minimum. We also need to revisit student technology fees. We have neglected infrastructure on our college campuses. A large percentage of new money should be allocated to one-time expenditures. Salaries need to be addressed to keep us competitive. Caution needs to be exercised; if we can sustain a $60 million increase I would support that effort.

There's a proposal for putting more than 60 million new dollars into funding for primary and secondary education, in response to a lawsuit over funding equity filed by a number of North Dakota school districts. Do you support this proposal?

Johnson: I am in agreement that we need to increase the funding for primary and secondary education. I have not yet studied the commission's report and do not know yet what the other proposals might be, so I cannot say that $60 million is the right number. It may be more than that.

Kooren: I support the basic objective of this proposal. The dispute over funding equity as brought up by the lawsuit needs to be corrected. I feel the amount of funding, $60 million, is not enough to address the needs of education funding for K-12. It is my goal to seek a total amount of $200 million in education funding.

Savelkoul:Yes, the state has an obligation to fund local education equitably. But if the state funds local education by more than 50 percent, local officials and parents must understand that they are exchanging control for the added funding.

Wald: Yes, the equity issue and property tax relief must be addressed.