Dr. Steven L. Johnson
FORT RANSOM, N.D. (Editorial) – The following is an opinion statement by Dr. Steven L. Johnson, Superintendent of the Fort Ransom School District. The following does not express the views of i3G Media or NewsDakota.com
“North Dakota politicians often love to celebrate “local control.” It’s printed in platforms, repeated in campaigns, and sold as the promise that communities can make decisions close to home. But in practice, local control ends the moment it conflicts with state priorities or the interests of powerful industries. Over the past decade, the Legislature has passed a series of laws—from energy siting and livestock-facility standards to property-tax limits and digital-center exemptions—that have steadily eroded local decision-making. Legislative sessions in 2023 and 2025 accelerated this erosion, centralizing authority in Bismarck while curbing township and county oversight. Rural residents are often unaware these projects are even planned until they are already a done deal—and only then are they told they can voice their concerns. Nowhere is this contradiction clearer than in education. The state continues to impose new curriculum requirements, assessment mandates, and reporting rules on public schools—while promoting “parental choice” options that face none. Local boards are bound by state directives yet blamed when students fall short of those very mandates. The same lawmakers who decry federal overreach under the Tenth Amendment often have no hesitation in stripping authority from their own communities. When Bismarck dictates land use or school policy for every township and district, it silences the farmers, school boards, community leaders, and county commissioners who embody true local control. Until that trust is restored, “local control” will remain exactly what it has become: a myth.”
Dr. Steven L. Johnson is a fourth-generation North Dakotan who has worked in education for 49 years. He is Superintendent of the Fort Ransom School District, a Board Member of North Dakota Small Organized Schools, and an Executive Committee Member of the National Rural Education Association.