District 8 candidates for the Legislature squared off during a public forum Thursday night in Bismarck, even though about half of the district's residents live north of Wilton.

The district now includes a swath of northeast Bismarck, and within a decade the number of Bismarck voters in the districts is expected to exceed the rural residents. So the candidates running to represent the district have an interesting balancing act, representing people from Bismarck to Underwood.

Currently Republicans hold all three legislative seats: Sen. Layton Freborg, of Underwood, Rep. Jeff Delzer, of Underwood, and Rep. Dwight Wrangham, of Bismarck. They're being challenged by Democrats Ken Baker, of Coleharbor, Muriel Kisse, of Bismarck, and Wes Weible, of Turtle Lake.

Baker was unable to attend the forum.

While the incumbents touted their experience and ability to keep taxes in check while avoiding the budget shortfalls and recession experienced around the country, the newcomers challenged their notions of how the state should be run, advocating for higher teacher pay, better pay for state employees and help for uninsured people.

Kisse, a special education teacher, said she sees many education needs going unaddressed, and Weible, a former educator who now farms, said teacher pay hasn't increased enough and the state is not adequately funding education.

Freborg noted that lawmakers approved $69 million for K-12 education last session, even though there are 20,000 fewer students to educate than 20 years ago. He said rather than forcing schools to consolidate, lawmakers have moved toward offering financial incentives to districts that share resources, while increasing core curriculum requirements and the number of credits required to graduate.

Both the Republican and Democratic teams agreed that decisions about consolidation should be made locally, not forced upon districts. Freborg said attempts to reduce the number of school districts have failed, but Joint Powers Agreements - in which multiple districts pool their resources - seem to be working.

He said consolidation doesn't save money because the state doles out funds based on the number of students, and "they will get it wherever they go." He said lawmakers have strengthened standards schools must meet, and as long as the schools meet them, the state will leave them alone.

Weible said he doesn't like the idea of using money to convince districts to "close."

While the Democratic candidates decried recent double-digit increases in college tuition, the Republicans said they followed the recommendation of the higher education roundtable that the state commit 21 percent of its budget to higher education and let the Board of Higher Education set tuition, rather than lawmakers. And if rosy revenue projections hold true, that 21 percent will translate into more money, they said.

But Kisse said if students aren't able to afford the higher tuition and go to college out of state, they'll be less likely to return.

The League of Women Voters sponsored the forum.

(Reach Deena Winter at 250-8251 or deena.winter@bismarcktribune.com.)