Public still nervous about tribal takeover of BIE schools
MANY FARMS, Ariz.
In the year-and-a-half since it was first presented to the public, the proposed tribal takeover of the Navajo Nation’s Bureau of Indian Education and grant schools has not gotten any more popular, at least if last Thursday’s public hearing here is any indication.
Of the 10 or so people who spoke between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., only two were in favor of the plan and one cautiously optimistic. In fact, the idea is still so unpopular that the Department of Diné Education is not revealing the names of the consultants working on the plan under the tribe’s Sovereignty in Indian Education grant, fearing retaliation.
Navajo Nation Superintendent of Schools Tommy Lewis said most of the backlash is based on “misinformation.”
“People are saying, ‘The Navajo Nation just wants to take over our schools!’” Lewis said. “It’s not about control. This is about making sure our children have a quality education.”
Under the plan, which will have to be approved by the Navajo Nation Council and President Russell Begaye, a new entity will be set up much like a school district off the reservation. Dubbed the Diné Consolidated School System, it will have authority over curriculum development, finance policy and human resource policy at all 66 BIE schools, grant schools and residential programs. Currently, those policies vary widely from school to school.
There will be five regional school boards — one per agency — possibly expanding to seven later. Each will oversee between five and eight schools — far fewer than either the Gallup-McKinley County School District (34 schools) or Central Consolidated (16), Lewis pointed out.
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