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Policy Watchtower/Watchdog report

OIG questions $118,080 in BIE facilities grant funds used at Pine Grove satellite school

Education DepartmentInterior DepartmentWatchdog reportAug 7, 2026

Check: The Inspector General questioned $118,080 in operations and maintenance funds the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe spent on a Pine Grove School employee, and recommended BIE resolve the costs and put a waiver agreement in place.

Read the original

What it does

Tribes that run satellite school locations under a waiver (a Secretary-approved exception to the satellite school restriction) are affected. The Band's waiver request said BIE operations and maintenance funds would not be used for facilities costs at Pine Grove School. Neither BIE nor the Band could locate the approved waiver agreement, so BIE says it will have to establish a new one if the original is not found.

Why it matters for tribal funding

Directly tribal. The document is about tribes, tribal programs or Native organizations specifically.

Who it covers: Tribal governments.

What to do next

  1. Locate and keep copies of any approved waiver agreements for satellite school locations.
  2. Review whether operations and maintenance funds are charged to staff or facilities at locations the waiver does not cover.
  3. Watch for BIE action to resolve the $118,080 in questioned costs and to implement a waiver agreement with the Band.

Sources

Every signal is built from public records. The highlighted words appear in the source exactly as shown.

  • Department of the Interior OIG: reportsoig_reportAug 7, 2026

    BIE Must Correct Safety and Health Deficiencies, Improve Facility Management System Accuracy, and Ensure Available Grant Funds Are Used To Correct Longstanding Deficiencies at Nay Ah Shing Upper and Lower Schools

    • Quoted from the source: “Thus, we are questioning $118,080 in unallowable salary and other benefit expenses (see Figure 7)”
    • Quoted from the source: “6. Implement a waiver agreement with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe for Pine Grove School to document BIE’s approval and the terms authorizing the Pine Grove School satellite expansion.”
    Read the originalU.S. government record, public domain.

Terms with a dotted underline open a plain-language definition. This is guidance, not legal advice: the official text always controls. A free public service from GrantsPath, a Native-owned business.