Advertise:   ads@blueearthmarketing.com   712.224.5420

Education
Tribes struggle to find funds to fix crumbling schools


Tribes and their advocates say the federal government isn't doing enough to fix crumbling Bureau of Indian Affairs schools.

The BIA funds school construction projects on a priority basis. That means tribes must wait years before money is provided to replace buildings that, in many cases, are decades old.

Maintenance is also an issue, said Jackie Johnson, the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. "Children can't get good educations and a fair start for the future if they're continually being put in these areas where they have to worry about their safety on a day-to-day basis or shift them from room to room depending on leakage or something else," she told the Associated Press.

The Bush administration says it has increased funding for school replacement since 2001. The BIA has funded 34 projects but only nine have been completed, leading the White House to scale back money for fiscal year 2006.

Get the Story:
Tribes complain of crumbling schools (AP 6/9)

Related Stories:
Bill calls for tribal consultation on BIA budget (05/31)
Indian educator: More classwork, less culture (05/27)
BIA publishes final No Child Left Behind regulations (04/28)
School construction fared poorly on White House test (02/14)
Indian education funds reduced by Bush budget (2/10)
New Bush administration budget slashes programs (2/7)
Tribes tackle budget woes under Bush administration (4/14)
Budget resolution barely clears House vote (03/26)
Tribal leaders denounce BIA budget plans as reckless (03/24)
BIA education programs taking $79 million hit (3/23)
Indian educators meet for legislative summit (3/22)
Cuts run deep for tribal programs at BIA (03/09)
Navajo leader gives BIA a 'D' for school funding (03/04)
BIA to publish replacement school construction list (2/26)
Comments sought on No Child Left Behind Act rules (02/26)
Tom Daschle: Leave no Indian child behind (2/25)
Senate panel shares criticism of Bush budget (02/12)
Tribal leaders pressing Congress on funding (02/11)
BIA programs barely survive White House test (02/10)
BIA budget staying the same under Bush request (2/3)
BIA Schools: Are Indian students being left behind? (01/26)
NCAI president uses speech to lobby for funding (01/22)
Bush education official pays visit to N.M. school (01/09)
Report card shows Native students falling behind (06/23)
Paige advancing Indian issues at Ed. Dept. (6/16)
Tribal-federal effort targets Indian education (11/15)
Controversial BIA school proposal dropped (05/16)
Leave no Indian child behind (5/15)
Court to decide limits of trust duty (4/23)
Bush school proposal faces tribal debate (3/19)
McCaleb: Bush helping education (3/7)
Bush proposal strips BIA of education (2/5)
Bush school proposal criticized (2/5)
GAO report finds failing BIA schools (10/29)
Final BIA school goes online (8/24)
Norton, McCaleb to address Indian educators (7/23)
Norton pushes Indian school construction, reform (7/17)
Norton to visit Indian school (7/16)
Norton to visit Indian Country (4/25)
Tribal Schools on Priority List (2/16)