One of 3 incumbents advances to general election for Red Lake School Board

RED LAKE — In a crowded primary for four positions on the Red Lake School Board, eight candidates will move on to ballots in November.

Of the three incumbents who vied to keep their seats during the Tuesday, Aug. 11, primary election, only one will advance to the next election: Tina Stately, who earned 176 votes.

Sharon Kingbird earned the most votes at 360.

In a Thursday phone interview, Kingbird called the support she has received in her community as "overwhelming."

Kingbird has decades of education experience, spending 23 years in the Red Lake School system.

"We have some wonderful things that we do in our school, some awesome games," she said. "But there's also some things that need some attention brought to the issues."

She said top priorities include improving attendance and communication between the district and families.

"We all need to feel like we're being heard when we're having a conversation, when we're talking about our kids in school, if we're talking about concerns that we have, if we're talking about incidents that our children are going through," she said.

If elected, Kingbird also aims to continue building ground on the graduation rate. In May, 42 students graduated.

"That's the largest graduation class we've had since 2017," she said. "I'm so proud of those students and families, and that's something that I want to continue."

Also advancing to November are Vestanna Cook, Dustin Thunder-Harris, Jennifer Schoenborn, Deanna Pemberton, Robert Pemberton Sr. and Ryan Holthusen.

Fourteen candidates filed for the School Board.

Most school boards in Minnesota don't have primary elections. Typically, those running for a seat file in July and are on the general election ballot in November.

But the Red Lake School District No. 38 does things differently. Serving the Red Lake Nation, it's Minnesota's only school district located within a sovereign nation. It includes a high school, middle school, an elementary school in Red Lake and a prekindergarten through eighth grade school in Ponemah.

The district is currently seeking an interim superintendent for the next school year. Some voters told KAXE there have been challenges with the current Board.

Voters in Red Lake and Redby cast ballots Tuesday at the Red Lake Government Center in the room typically reserved for Tribal Council meetings.

"I think the School Board needs a little bit of a change, so changing it up a bit," said voter AnnMarie English-Defoe. "Changing it up and it's going to be different, hopefully."

Larissa Donovan

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KAXE

Current School Board members up for election this year are Nicole Desjarlait, Christopher Jourdain, Tina Stately and Thomas Barrett.

Two incumbents, Christopher Jourdain and Nicole Desjarlait, did not advance from the primary. Barrett did not file to run again.

Fawn Beaulieu, Deanna K Lasley, Ron Lussier, Linda S. Perkins and Dustin Thunder-Harris also will not advance from the primary.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Aug. 13, 2026, to reflect comments from candidate Sharon Kingbird.