{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/star-tribune-how-to-build-a-new-future-for-american-indian-schools", "Star Tribune: How to build a new future for American Indian schools", "2014-12-30", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Rick Nolan", "N000127", "nolan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "President Obama had the right reaction after meeting Indian students during his trip to a North Dakota Indian reservation in June. Saying he and the first lady were \u201cshaken\u201d by the kids\u2019 pessimism about their futures, Obama returned home and took action.\nHe ordered his administration to \u201cfind new avenues of opportunity\u201d for Indian youths. He instructed every member of his Cabinet to \u201csit down with Native young people and hear firsthand about their lives.\u2019\u2019 The result of his agenda-setting came earlier this month when Obama announced a series of tribal youth initiatives at the White House Tribal Nations conference.\nThe speech was greeted with cheers. It should have been met with hard questions. The new initiatives, while welcome, are small steps that do nothing to address a critical educational hurdle on reservations: the ragged conditions of school buildings.\nOnline leadership networks, a \u201cyouth listening tour\u201d and a \u201cWhite House Tribal Youth Gathering\u201d are poor substitutes for the safe, modern school buildings that the 183-school Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) system desperately needs. About a third of the schools in this federally funded K-12 system, which serves about 50,000 of the nation\u2019s poorest students, have decrepit facilities.\nAn effort to help Indian youths that does not include an overhaul of these 63 BIE schools cannot be taken seriously. At least $1.3 billion is required for rebuilding or renovation. What\u2019s needed is a swift commitment to secure funding, not lightweight initiatives.\nBeginning Nov. 23, a Star Tribune Editorial Board series called \u201cSeparate and Unequal\u201d documented the shameful state of BIE school buildings across the nation, as well as the growing gap between them and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) schools, the other federally funded K-12 system.\nNorthern Minnesota\u2019s Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School is housed in a deteriorating pole barn. In Arizona, two BIE schools have been on a \u201cpriority waitlist\u201d for a decade. In South Dakota, BIE schools are overcrowded and have sections of buildings that have been closed off or condemned.\nAt the same time, Department of Defense schools, which serve children of military families and civilian defense employees, are in the midst of a $5 billion, decadelong project to rebuild 134 schools and set a new national design standard for the future.\nAt the White House Tribal Nations conference, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell called the editorials \u201cpainful\u201d but \u201chelpful.\u201d\nJewell, whose Department of the Interior is the parent agency for BIE and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, deserves credit for recognizing the problems documented in the series. But now she needs to provide a concrete action plan to overhaul the schools \u2014 and a personal guarantee that she\u2019ll lobby Congress for the funding needed to launch a school construction surge like the DOD\u2019s. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan also needs to lend his considerable clout.\nAbout a week ago, Congress signaled strongly that it\u2019s willing to hear the case for improved BIE school funding with the passage of the continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill. Tucked inside the bill, thanks to a timely push by Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, was $20 million for BIE school replacement in 2015, nearly $17 million more than Jewell\u2019s agency requested. The legislation also directed Interior to replace its decade-old \u201cpriority construction\u201d list of schools.\nBut much more work needs to be done.\nAt the federal level:\n\u2022\u2009Minnesota\u2019s congressional delegation must take on the BIE school cause. McCollum, as well as Rep. Rick Nolan and Sen.\u00a0Al Franken, all Democrats, have long been champions of BIE schools. Powerful Republican Reps. John Kline and Erik Paulsen also need to convince their caucus that this is a worthy investment. Kline, as chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, especially could make a difference.\n\u2022\u2009Interior Department officials should tap the expertise of DOD school construction experts. The DOD staff is setting a new standard for school design and has experience managing a large rebuilding effort.\nAt the state level:\n\u2022\u2009Minnesota lawmakers must take the lead on building a new Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig high school. BIE school construction is a federal obligation, but federal action remains years, perhaps a decade, away. One BIE ranking of school construction needs indicated that 31 schools are ahead of the Bug school. State. Sen. Terri Bonoff\u2019s idea to form a new partnership with federal officials to finance a new Bug school also merits support.\n\u2022\u2009Gov.\u00a0Mark Dayton\u00a0should enlist Minnesota\u2019s nonprofit community to help build a new Bug school. The CEO of the influential Blandin Foundation has said that the organization is interested in getting involved and that covering the school\u2019s $27 million price tag is doable with the right partnerships.\nThe conditions at BIE schools are a national disgrace, one requiring immediate attention. Obama, Jewell and Congress cannot let the nation\u2019s two federally funded K-12 systems become one of haves and have-nots on their watch.\nAnd Minnesota, which has a long history of helping communities with immediate needs that outstrip available resources, shouldn\u2019t wait for Washington to help the Bug school. Swift action is needed to ensure that another generation of American Indian kids will not have to attend high school in a broken-down building.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/star-tribune-how-to-build-a-new-future-for-american-indian-schools"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9087910875678062, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}