The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released two reports that found issues with how the Bureau of Indian Education manages its school buildings. The federal school system manages 185 schools on Native American reservations across the country.
In the first report, investigators found that officials within the Interior Department haven’t taken action to address weaknesses within the BIE’s school building inspection system. Internal and GAO reports conducted since 2011 have uncovered major issues with the system, but so far Indian Affairs officials have yet to develop or implement a corrective plan.
The second report explored how the BIE managed its school construction projects. The GAO found Indian Affairs hasn’t been consistently ensuring that projects are completed on time, according to school needs, and on budget.
Officials with the Interior Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
