DJ Dondelinger
MN · Brainerd Public Schools Board of Education Member
DJ Dondelinger is vice chair of the Brainerd school board and owns Dondelinger Automotive. He wants to keep students and good teachers in the district and focus schools on core academics and life skills.
Where DJ Dondelinger stands, based on their records
Supports
Government Spending Reduction (1 record), Public Education Quality (1 record)
Opposes
Civil Rights (1 record)
Track record
Track record — Government Spending Reduction
Government Spending Reduction · 1 support
Voted no on starting plans for an operating levy vote in fall 2025. The motion failed 3-3, so voters did not get a levy question that year.
June 9, 2025Supports Government Spending Reduction
Source: docs.google.com
Track record — Public Education Quality
Public Education Quality · 1 support
Made the motion for a board resolution calling on staff to strictly enforce limits on student cellphones. It passed unanimously.
July 8, 2024Supports Public Education Quality
Source: docs.google.com
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 1 oppose
Signed a letter with more than 100 Minnesota school board members. It urged state leaders and the high school league to follow the federal policy barring transgender athletes from girls' sports.
October 9, 2025Opposes Civil Rights
Source: brainerddispatch.com
Track record — General
General · 9 records
Was elected vice chair of the Brainerd School Board in a unanimous vote.
April 13, 2026
Source: brainerddispatch.com
Made the motion to approve Chip Rankin's three-year superintendent contract, starting at $235,000 a year. All members present voted yes.
February 20, 2026
Source: docs.google.com
Made the motion to offer the superintendent job to Chip Rankin. All board members voted yes.
February 10, 2026
Source: docs.google.com
Gave $6,000 through his company, Dondelinger Automotive, to Restore Our Schools. That political group mailed flyers urging voters to reject three sitting board members in 2024.
October 27, 2024
Source: brainerddispatch.com
Voted no on hiring Kristine Wehrkamp Herman as superintendent. The offer failed 3-3. He then moved to have the board chair screen interim candidates, which passed 5-1.
May 8, 2024
Source: docs.google.com
Voted no on the district's new rules for choosing library books (Policy 631). The rules passed 4-2.
February 12, 2024
Source: docs.google.com
Voted no when the board rejected a challenge to the book "Queen of Shadows" and kept it. The vote was 4-2.
January 8, 2024
Source: docs.google.com
Made a motion to side with a challenge against keeping the book "Empire of Storm" in school libraries. A review committee had voted to keep it. The motion failed 3-2.
December 11, 2023
Source: docs.google.com
Won a seat on the Brainerd School Board on 2022-11-08. He placed first of seven candidates with 10,625 votes.
November 8, 2022
Source: brainerddispatch.com
Past race DJ Dondelinger ran in:
- Brainerd Public Schools School Board Member (ISD 181) · November 3, 2026 · Brainerd Public School District, Minnesota · incumbent