The president of the Twin Buttes school board should be thrown out of office for stealing $19,000 in school money, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says. Melissa Starr will be suspended from the board while she awaits a formal hearing.

Two other board members, Hank Starr and Darcy Lone Bear, still are under investigation, and complaints are likely to be filed against them shortly, Stenehjem said. The Starrs are brother and sister, and Lone Bear is their brother-in-law.

They are among a group of board members and school district employees who already face federal charges of conspiring to steal about $665,000 from the rural district, which is in northern Dunn County on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, from August 2001 until October 2006. They have denied wrongdoing, and are scheduled for trial May 1.

Stenehjem forwarded a complaint to Gov. John Hoeven on Tuesday, alleging that Starr stole $17,000 from school accounts in a Bismarck bank from January through November of 2004, and lied to get a $2,000 check from the Twin Buttes district in October 2005.

Melissa Starr's attorney, Ralph Vinje, of Bismarck, did not respond Tuesday to telephone and e-mail messages asking for comment. Starr herself could not be reached by telephone.

Marcus Wells Jr., the chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes, asked Hoeven last month to use his power under state law to oust the Starrs and Lone Bear. The tribal council also approved a resolution asking Hoeven to step in. The governor then asked Stenehjem to prepare complaints against the three.

North Dakota law gives the governor the power to remove local officeholders for misconduct. Once a complaint is issued, the governor has 10 days to serve it on the person named. Once the person is served, the governor must schedule a hearing within 15 to 20 days.

Hoeven said he would suspend Starr from office while she awaits her hearing. Ryan Bernstein, the governor's staff attorney, said Benny Graff, a retired state district judge, has agreed to preside.

The Twin Buttes school has 47 students in grades kindergarten through eight, and an instructional budget of about $1.2 million, said Chad Dahlen, its superintendent and principal. It is under both state and federal jurisdiction and receives aid from both sources, Dahlen said.

A federal grand jury indicted the Starrs, Lone Bear and four others last October on charges of fraud and conspiracy to steal money from the school district.

"The defendants attempted unlawfully to disguise and conceal these funds through claims and proclamation of bonuses, loans, payroll advances, compensation to others, and as travel expenses," the indictment says.

Stenehjem said the Bureau of Criminal Investigation did its own probe of Melissa Starr's alleged financial improprieties. "We were careful, because we didn't want to jeopardize the federal prosecution," the attorney general said.

Hoeven used his removal power in August 2001 to oust Richland County Sheriff Harlan Muehler and County Commissioner Dave Paulson from office. Muehler and Paulson were accused of sexually harassing county employees.