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Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools: Expenditures in Selected Schools are Comparable to Similar Public Schools, But Data Are Insufficient to Judge Adequacy of Funding and Formulas

GAO-03-955 Published: Sep 04, 2003. Publicly Released: Sep 04, 2003.
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Highlights

In 2001, Congress directed GAO to examine the adequacy of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school funding and the adequacy of the formulas employed by BIA to distribute various types of operating funds. Because there is no universally accepted standard for adequacy, for this report, GAO examined (1) the sources and amounts of federal funding provided for BIA schools and how they are determined, (2) how BIA school budgets and expenditures compared to national per-pupil expenditures and expenditures for similarly situated public schools, and (3) how equitably various formulas distribute funding across BIA schools and whether they account for all relevant costs. To obtain expenditure data for BIA schools GAO reviewed BIA budget and financial documents and collected data from 8 BIA and 6 public schools that were similar in terms of their relative isolation and student characteristics.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior To better assess BIA funding and formulas for their adequacy and to ensure that budgeted funds are spent as intended and well managed, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to collect expenditure data for the schools the agency directly manages in greater detail so that the data can be compared with public schools. For example, BIA should consider adopting the expenditure classifications, particularly the function and object codes, listed in Education's Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems, 1990.
Closed – Not Implemented
BIA reported that the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (AS-IA) issued a memo directing that the BIA's accounting system be reviewed and modified to enable BIA-operated schools to collect detailed expenditure data. The AS-IA and BIA have stated that they will consider amending the financial system (FFS) to include expenditure classification codes identified by the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics in its Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems, 1990. BIA did not provide a response in 2006 to confirm whether they completed these actions.
Department of the Interior To better assess BIA funding and formulas for their adequacy, the Secretary of the Interior should also consider entering into negotiations with tribal entities to acquire detailed expenditure data for the schools they manage so they can compare it with public schools.
Closed – Not Implemented
BIA's Office of Indian Education Program, in consultation with the Tribally Controlled School Boards, concluded that this recommendation would not be feasible with the School Boards' existing systems. No action was taken action to address it.
Department of the Interior To improve the transportation formula so that it more accurately reflects costs and encourages efficiency, the Secretary of Interior should direct the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs to include an isolation index and an efficiency incentive in addition to an adjustment for road conditions.
Closed – Not Implemented
The National Rule Making Committee's proposed rules were published in the Federal Register in February 2004 for a 120-day comment period that ended in June 2004. The Committee did not incorporate the isolation index or the efficiency incentive for transportation. There has been no action taken as of 7/18/07.
Department of the Interior To better manage Interior's funds, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to identify and allocate all costs of administering BIA-funded schools, including the costs of (1) administrative services provided by BIA to BIA-operated schools and (2) central office services provided by headquarters and regional offices.
Closed – Not Implemented
IA reported that the Department of the Interior is replacing its existing financial system with a new system that integrates financial, budgeting, property, and acquisition disciplines into one reporting system. BIA believes that this system will allow it to determine administration costs for BIA schools. BIA did not provide a response in 2006 to confirm whether they completed this action.

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Topics

Native American educationPublic schoolsAid for educationComparative analysisFederal fundsFunds managementSchoolsStudentsExpenditure of fundsSpecial education