Committee agrees not to change BIA, grant school boards

Posted by Arlyssa Becenti | Mar 3, 2016 | Education |

WINDOW ROCK

There will be no change in the makeup of BIA and grant school boards.

The Navajo Nation Council’s Health, Education and Human Services Committee members made a decision Wednesday on which option they will go with pertaining to the BIA and grants school board appropriation plan.

The committee decided to go with Plan A, which would continue with the 2012 Apportionment Plan and have 275 board members.

This decision was mulled over for nearly a month by the committee after the Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education proposed four different plans. These plans were then presented in a series of public hearings throughout the five agencies.

“I think as a committee we did what we thought was in the best interest of the Navajo people,” said Amber Kanazbah Crotty (Toadlena/Two Grey Hills/Red Valley /Tse’alnaozt’i’i’/ Sheepsprings/ Beclabito/Gadiiahi/To’Koi). “We wanted to make sure there was enough time for public hearings and public input.”

Every four years, the HEHS, as an oversight committee, must set the size of each local community school board.

When tribal education officials presented the options to HEHS, they explained that it would be in the best interest of the tribe to decrease the number of board members substantially from 275 to as little as 31. This smaller size would also decrease the amount of school boards from 66 to 5 regionalized school boards, this being Plan C.