Condition of Bureau of Indian Affairs Facilities at the Pine Hill Boarding School

We inspected the condition of school facilities funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) at the Pine Hill Boarding School in New Mexico. We found that Pine Hill is not safe; facilities are not properly maintained, and known hazards that endanger students, staff, and visitors are ignored. 

 

We found several major facility deficiencies and health and safety concerns such as mold and exposed electrical wiring. In addition to the facility deficiencies, we found that much of this information is not being documented in the facilities management systems, which BIA uses to allocate funding. Pine Hill is not being maintained properly, despite receiving more than $7.5 million for facility repair projects over 5 years. BIA and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) share responsibility for allowing the issues faced by the school to develop, and continue, as they have allowed internal jurisdictional conflicts to govern how they communicate and coordinate with each other and the school regarding the school’s projects. 

 

We provided 12 recommendations to address urgent maintenance needs at Pine Hill and help Pine Hill develop promising practices to ensure that its facilities are operated and maintained properly for the students. Proper collaboration between the school, BIA, and BIE should help prevent major problems with future facility repair and construction projects.