DOCUMENT RESUME ED 432 126 EF 005 532 TITLE BIA School Construction. Hearing on the Current Condition of BIA Schools before the Committee on Indian Affairs. United States Senate, 105th Congress, Second Session. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. REPORT NO Senate-Hrg-105-717 ISBN ISBN-0-16-057847-7 PUB DATE 1998-06-10 NOTE 451p.; Several attachments in appendix contain small, light, or smeared type. Photographs may not reproduce clearly. AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC19 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *American Indian Education; *Building Obsolescence; *Educational Environment; Educational Facilities Improvement; Elementary Secondary Education; *Financial Needs; Hearings; *School Buildings IDENTIFIERS *Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools; Congress 105th ABSTRACT A Senate hearing was held regarding the current condition of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. The BIA selection process for building and repairing these schools was resumed; and discussed innovative measures for financing BIA schools was discussed. This document includes testimony from the Director of the National Indian Education Association, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, and the President of the Dakota Area Consortium of Treaty Schools, Inc., along wizh prepared statements from other interested parties. Among the information presented is the fact that there is a $1.5 billion backlog of needed repairs, rsnovations, and replacement for all federally owned and operated BIA schools. Half of BIA schools are over 30 years old, and one quarter of the schools are over 50 years old--all of which fail to meet current codes and standards. Overall, BIA schools are generally in poorer physical condition than even central city schools, have less technology than the average American school, and have funding that is at crisis levels. Numerous statements and attachments illustrating these observations conclude the report. 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BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INDIANAFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTHCONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON THE CURRENT CONDITIONOF BIA SCHOOLS JUNE 10, 1998 WASHINGTON, DC U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement iteED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVA LAME S. HRG. 105-717 BIA SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON THE CURRENT CONDITION OF BIA SCHOOLS JUNE 10, 1998 WASHINGTON, DC U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 50-525 CC WASHINGTON : 1998 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington,DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-057847-7 3 COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado, Chairman DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Vice Chairman FRANK MURKOWSKI, Alaska KENT CONRAD, North Dakota JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, HARRY REID, Nevada SLADE GORTON, Washington DANIEL K AKAKA, Hawaii PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah JAMES M. INHOFE, OKLAHOMA GARY BOHNEE Majority Staff Director PATRICIA M. ZELL, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel CONTENTS Page Statements: Atcitty, Thomas E., President, Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ 23 Berry, John, Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Management And Budg- et, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 8 Campbell, Hon. Ben Nighthorse, U.S. Senator from Colorado, Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs 1 Conrad, Hon. Kent, U.S. Senator from North Dakota 4 Domenici, Hon. Pete V., U.S. Senator from New Mexico 5 Dorgan, Hon. Byron L., U.S. Senator from North Dakota 2 Edmo, Lorraine, Director, National Indian Education Association, Alexan- dria, VA 27 Gover, Kevin, Assistant Secretary For Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 11 Johnson, Hon. Tim, U.S. Senator from South Dakota 7 Whirlwind Horse, Jon, President, Dakota Area Consortium of Treaty Schools, Inc., Oglala, SD 25 APPENDIX Prepared statements: Atcitty, Thomas E 37 Berry, John 33 Cournoyer, Robert, Vice Chairman, Yankton Sioux Tribal Council, Marty, SD (with attachment) 165 Edmo, Lorraine 44 Dorame, Charlie, Tribal Administrator, Tesuque Pueblo 173 Gover, Kevin (with attachment) 53 Johnson, Hon. Tim, U.S. Senator from South Dakot2 32 Mariano Lake Community School Board (with attachments) 176 Navajo Area School Board Association, Inc 180 Seidel, Jeff, President, Parkway Muni Resources, Minneapolis, MN 162 Wellstone, Hon. Paul, U.S. Senator from Minnesota 31 Whirlwind Horse, Jon (with attachments) 63 Additional material submitted for the record: Domenici, Hon. Pete V., U.S. Senator from New Mexico, submitted packet of information (statements, letters, resolutions) 183 BIA SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1998 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:35a.m., in room 106, Senate Dirksen Building, Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Senators Campbell, Domenici, Dorgan, and Conrad. Also present: Senator Johnson. STATEMENT OF HON. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, U.S. SEN- ATOR FROM COLORADO, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON IN- DIAN AFFAIRS The CHAIRMAN. Good morning. The Indian Affairs Committee will be in session. The purpose of this morning's hearing is to receive testimonyre- garding the current condition of BIA schools; review the BIA selec- tion process for building and repairing these schools; and to discuss innovative measures for financing BIA schools. We are not facing a new problem. Indeed, the committee record, if you go back 7 years ago, reads as follows: We will receive testhnony which states that Indian childrenare not being pro- vided with school facilities that are safe, healthy, and conducive toa quality edu- cation. We will hear from other parents, tribal leaders, and school board members that their children must attend classes in overcrowded classrooms and live in dilapi- dated dorms. Sadly, we will hear one more time how the Federal Government is fail- ing to meet its obligations to Indian children. We must address the backlog ofnew school construction requests and the related school facility maintenance improve- ment and repair problems, which will repeatedly be identified by various witnesses today. That statement was said 7years ago by then-chairman of this committee, Senator DeConcini of Arizona. Well, itseems like things have not changed very much. The Senate budget passed for fiscalyear 1999 allocates $166 mil- lion to BIA schools for construction. This amount, if appropriated, would place a little dent, at least, in that $754 million backlog in BIA school construction, and would fund all remaining schoolcon- struction projects on the priority list. The budget also containeda resolution introduced by Senators Domenici and Johnson to eliminate this backlog within 5years. These are Federal buildings, and the Government is liable for inju- ries caused by their decay, so we allon this committee hope that Congress can live up to this promise. (1) 2 However, the constraints imposed by last year's balanced budget agreement won't permit us to address all the problems facing In- dian country, so we look forward to our discussion today on alter- native methods of financing and the administration's improved method of maintaining and repairing the schools. We obviously have a complicating factor around here, something we sometimes call the "law ofunintended consequences." One of the consequences of last year's Welfare Reform Act is that there are many Indians moving back to thereservations. Some are being dropped off the welfare rolls, can't find jobs, can't get in school in the cities, and so they are simply going home, which makes the problem on reservation even worse as they take their children back and into already overcrowded conditions. Last week the committee discussed the reported public safety cri- sis in Indian country. The crime rate is soaring in evezy Indian ju- risdiction across this Nation. The majority of criminals leading this charge are juveniles, children that should be obtaining an edu- cation, but for the reasons that we have already talked about and are about to discuss, they cannotattend school because of the con- ditions that exist. I taught school for 14 years, as some of my friends know, 10 in the elementary and high school level and 4 at the college level, too, and one thing I know for sure as a former teacher is that students cannot learn adequately unless the atmos- phere is conducive