McCollum Applauds Federal Funding To Replace Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School

Today, Department of the Interior Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Roberts announced that the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe has been prioritized for Fiscal Year 2016 funding to replace the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School.

This funding is the direct result of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee’s restoration of the Replacement Facility Construction line item in the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act. For the five previous years no funding had been appropriated for replacement facilities. Congresswoman McCollum, the Subcommittee’s Ranking Member, released the following statement:

“The federal government has a responsibility to ensure that every child in a Bureau of Indian Education school receives a high-quality education in a safe, healthy facility. Today’s announcement is an important step in meeting that obligation for the children of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

For years, I have worked with Chairwoman Carri Jones, the students of Leech Lake, and all the other band members to secure bipartisan support for the replacement of the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School.

Last year, my colleagues and I on the Appropriations Committee secured funding for replacement facilities that will allow the unsafe Bug High School to be replaced.

Even as I celebrate this news with Leech Lake today, much work remains to be done for our Bureau of Indian Education schools. I am committed to working with my colleagues and tribal leaders throughout this country to ensure that every child in a BIE school is healthy, safe and receiving a high-quality education.”

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