MPS rehires teacher after reversal of neglect report
A former Minot Public School teacher has been rehired by the school district after an alleged “confirmed” report of suspected child neglect was reversed by the Ward Human Service Zone (WHSZ) and found to be “unconfirmed.”
Heather Raknerud and her husband Zachary Raknerud were notified of the reversal in letters dated Feb. 13 from WHSZ and obtained by The Minot Daily News. In the letters, both Rakneruds were told the decision was changed to unconfirmed and their names would not be placed on the Child Abuse and Neglect Information Index.
According to the North Dakota Century Code, initial reports of child abuse or neglect are assessed to determine whether they have been confirmed, confirmed with an unknown subject, unconfirmed or that no determination was able to be made. An unconfirmed report is applied when it is determined that the children involved do not meet the definition of an abused or neglected child.
Heather Raknerud was suspended from a teaching position at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in March 2023 after the MPS school board was made aware of the initial confirmed report from the WHSZ in January 2023 of suspected child neglect against the Rakneruds for allegedly providing inadequate supervision of two minors in their care.
Raknerud initially pursued having the matter adjudicated before an administrative law judge but would stop those efforts after signing a resignation and release agreement with the school district that ensured her a teaching position should the decision be reversed and she continued to hold a teaching license.
The Rakneruds told The Minot Daily News they were preparing for proceedings to appeal the confirmed decision earlier this year, but the letters from Field Services Specialist Samantha Peterson with the WHSZ stated the reversal resolved the situation, though no reason was given in the letters for the new, unconfirmed decision.
MPS Superintendent Mark Vollmer said the district had rehired Raknerud in accordance with the resignation and release agreement that was amended. Raknerud will teach kindergarten starting in the fall term of the 2024-2025 school year.


