Following administrator Bret Burkholder's termination, Grand Forks jail will move in a different direction

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10-04-2025

Apr. 9—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks County Correctional Administrator Bret Burkholder's employment has been terminated, a little more than a week after the County Commission suggested he be fired for his decision on how to spend a state grant and also as the jail and Sheriff's Office continue their consolidation.
"This was my decision (and) was my task on how to restructure and what direction (correctional administration) was going to go in," Sheriff Andy Schneider told the Grand Forks Herald.
Burkholder's employment was terminated Tuesday, April 8, according to the county human resources department. Schneider confirmed it was an involuntary separation. During an April 1 meeting of the County Commission, commission members voted 3-2 to recommend firing Burkholder. However, the commission noted, it ultimately was Schneider's decision.
Schneider said he believes Burkholder is not the best fit for the new direction of administration.
The commissioners themselves could not fire Burkholder, as only the sheriff has the power to discipline and terminate employees within his jurisdiction, according to a 2017 North Dakota Supreme Court ruling.
Corrections Lt. Jodi Hilde has been appointed temporary jail administrator. Burkholder's salary was $153,372.51. He is not expected to be given severance pay.
Schneider said he is not concerned about existing contracts and agreements with other agencies to utilize the GFCCC, as he had already taken over many of the department's administrative duties when the
commission voted March 18 to merge GFCCC into the sheriff's office,
eliminating it as a separate department.
The Herald reached out to Burkholder for comment but did not hear back prior to this report's publication.
During the April 1 meeting, commissioners — during that 3-2 vote — recommend firing Burkholder, saying his department had not correctly used funds from a state grant.
The "Back the Blue" grant was intended to be used for recruitment and retention bonuses for law enforcement and correctional officers. GFCCC used the funds in a way that was deemed to be not allowed by the Attorney General's Grant Office.
Both the sheriff and correctional center — at the time separate entities — applied for and received funds from the grant and were required to give reports at the end of 2024.
The sheriff's office used the grant to give monetary bonus to employees. The correctional center, on the other hand, used the grant funds for employee incentives — like improvements to an employee break room — as its form of a hiring and retention bonuses. According to Burkholder's grant report, his department thought a more creative approach to the grant was needed and would be a long-term benefit, given the high turnover rate of correctional officers.
Commissioner Mark Rustad, who led the initiative to combine the correctional center and sheriff's office, has contended
the correctional center should be overseen by an elected official, like the sheriff.
"What happens next really is out of our control at this point, because the jail is — in my opinion — where it belongs: in the hands of our sheriff's department," Rustad said. "So how (Schneider) reorganizes it is completely up to him, and the sheriff who comes along after him can change it how he wants."
Rustad added that there are always savings when combining departments. The merger was viewed by some as a way to save money as the county faced a budget crunch with capital projects and debt service. However, despite several meetings between the commission and a committee to study the merger,
a clear answer on where savings would come from was not found.
Commissioner Terry Bjerke added that he's brought the idea to county administration to have someone work as a grant compliance officer, serving as another line of review when county departments use and spend grant funds.
"I wish him the best, whatever he's going to do," Bjerke said, referring to Burkholder. "It was just time for a change, and we have to look at doing things differently and that's one place we have to look at trying to do things differently."
The formal notice of Burkholder's departure will likely be in front of the commission at its next regular meeting on April 15 as part of its regular business reviewing employee status changes.
Herald reporter Sav Kelly contributed to this report.