"All four federally supervised Indian schools in northern Minnesota failed to meet federal testing standards last year, yet they aren't likely to see much of the cash being doled out to public schools across the country under the Obama administration's signature education reform plan.

Two of them are also sorely in need of physical repairs or replacement, and have been for years. Yet, at current funding levels, the money to fix them may not arrive for years, possibly decades.

"No student in Minnesota should have to contend with mold problems or huge leaks, but that's what kids in some reservation schools deal with every day," said Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. "Students can't be expected to achieve at high levels when their school building is falling apart."

The four schools, all in northern Minnesota, are among 183 schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education, which is managed under the Department of the Interior. "

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Franken, others express concern about dismal conditions in struggling Indian schools (MinnPost.Com 3/1)