Ed committee: Board flunking
By Jason Begay
Navajo Times
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WINDOW ROCK, June 5, 2008
Based on the Education Committee's new request for a performance audit of the Navajo Nation Board of Education, it would seem that the talks between the two are not going very smoothly.On Tuesday, Willie Tracey Jr. (Ganado/Kinlichee) presented a resolution to the Budget and Finance Committee that would authorize a formal audit of the board, which the Education Committee members accuse of neglecting its duties.
Tracy, vice chairman of the Education Committee, said little has been accomplished since April, when the Navajo Nation Council directed both parties to meet and iron out their differences.
They are supposed to be working together to implement education reforms passed in 2005, but the work has stalled amid infighting.
The groups have met twice since the council's April directive to get back on track, but have made little progress, he said.
"There are a number of issues that the board of education is supposed to be doing but are not being done," Tracey said in his presentation. "We did meet twice, but everything is still where it was at. It's a power struggle."
The Budget and Finance Committee, which has authority to launch an audit, did not agree that this would spur productivity.
"From what I am hearing today, it seems nothing is being done," said Nelson Begaye (Lukachukai/Tsaile/Wheatfields), a committee member. "This seems to be another way to get more ammo against each other."
The committee and board should work to resolve their differences diplomatically, Begaye said.
The committee voted against launching an audit 3-2, once again sending the committee and the board back to the peacemaking table.
Tracey's request for an audit comes only months after the Education Committee as a whole sponsored legislation to revise the education code and strip the board of education of much of its power.
Committee members said the changes were necessary because the board, which is made up of both presidential appointees and elected members, had wasted eight months in a dispute with the tribe's first superintendent of schools. The board fired him less than a year after hiring him.
The council tabled the bill and directed the committee and the board to meet to resolve its differences.
Board president Jimmy C. Begay, asked for an interview, instead sent a statement hinting at progress being made between the two entities.
The committee gave a report from the board a favorable reception during the last meeting in May, Begay said. Next, the board will complete its progress report and plan of action on how it will work under the education code.
"We are optimistic and look forward to this next meeting, a work session to continue our effort to work cooperatively with the Education Committee," Begay said.
Mary Helen Creamer, acting superintendent of the Division of Diné Education, said, in her own statement, that the division would welcome at least a financial audit. Still, she seemed to question the need for such an investigation.
"An audit goes a lot further than the Navajo Nation Council's directive," Creamer said. "The Division of Diné Education's record keeping is in order. We would welcome if/when the occasion does arise, an inspection of the board's modest budget."
However, the committee's concerns are not with finances. So far, the board members have not shown any will to perform their duties as described under the tribal code, Tracey said.
In the past, board members have said the committee has failed to meet with the board and clearly define its duties and responsibilities.
"They shouldn't have to be told," Tracey said. "The (presidential) appointees are supposed to be professionals in education. They don't need to be told, they should already know."
Specifically, Tracey said one of the board's main goals should be to align the curriculum of all 65 BIA-funded schools on the reservation. It should be analyzing what is taught and how to mainstream the curriculum so all schools are uniform and follow state and federal education standards.
The board, which was established in 2006, has so far accomplished "not one thing," Tracey said.
Tracey said the board has proven difficult to work with and without the audit, the only other solution might be to once again push the committee's bill to reduce the number of board members and their power during the council's summer session in July.
"The answer is in the legislation amending (the education code)," Tracey said.