Condition of Indian School Facilities

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) fund and oversee 183 Indian schools throughout the Nation, with an estimated annual attendance of over 40,000 students. We evaluated 13 schools funded by BIA and BIE to examine their condition and to determine if the facilities were safe for students and staff and whether BIA and BIE provided the schools with the support necessary for creating and maintaining an environment conducive to learning. We found a number of systemic issues with facilities program management, as well as health and safety concerns at the 13 schools we visited.  

 

The bureaus’ management of Indian school facilities has several systemic programmatic weaknesses. These include problems with access to the facility management systems and inadequate execution of custodial oversight. For example, the bureaus have not consistently communicated their custodial roles and responsibilities to each other or the schools, provided adequate oversight of fund expenditures or project completion, and ensured that necessary school inspections are consistent and completed.  

 

In addition to the programmatic issues, we also found major facility deficiencies and health and safety concerns, including—

 

• asbestos, radon, and mold;

• structural concerns and condemned buildings;

• electrical issues;

• grounds and drainage problems;

• damaged and deteriorated roofs;

• plumbing, corrosion, and moisture damage;

• reliance on temporary structures as permanent solutions; and

• problems with fire safety systems.

 

In addition to the facility deficiencies, we found that much of this information is not being documented in BIA’s facilities management systems. When schools do not provide the information to BIA, regardless of the reason, the information used to make school facility funding decisions at every level of the U.S. Government is inaccurate and incomplete. 

 

We provided 21 recommendations to help the bureaus develop promising practices and implement plans to improve the operation and condition of Indian school facilities.