[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 14936-14937] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-7658] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs Construction of Replacement Education Facilities
Agency
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
Action
Call for applications and notice of revised instructions and ranking criteria.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
This Notice is the official call for applications for construction of Bureau-funded replacement education facilities. It also explains how to obtain copies of the revised publication, ``Instructions and Application for Replacement School Construction 1999.'' Applications for construction of Bureau-funded replacement education facilities may be submitted in accordance with these 1999 revised instructions.
Dates
Applications must be received on or before July 16, 1999.
Addresses
Copies of the revised instructions and ranking criteria are available upon request from the BIA Office of Indian Education Programs at 1849 C Street NW, MS-3512 MIB, Washington, DC 20240 or from 201 Third St. NW, Suite 510, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102. The revised instructions are also available from BIA Area and Education line offices and from the BIA Facilities Management and Construction Center, 201 Third St. NW,
Suite 500, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102. All applications must be submitted to the BIA Office of Indian Education Programs at 201 Third St. NW, Suite 510, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102.
For Further Information Contact
Questions regarding applications may be submitted to the attention of Dr. Kenneth G. Ross, Special Assistant to the Director, Office of Indian Education Programs, 201 Third St. NW, Suite 510, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102, (505) 346-6544, Fax (505) 346-6553 or to applicable Education Line Officers whose addresses and phone numbers are available in Appendix A of the application document.
Supplementary Information
We published a notice in the Federal Register on November 17, 1998 (63 FR 63942), requesting comments on draft instructions governing the priority ranking process for construction of replacement education facilities and the criteria used in ranking applications. We have reviewed all written comments received and incorporated some of the comments in the revised instructions in this notice. The revised instructions entitled ``Instructions and Application for Replacement School Construction 1999'' are available at the address provided in the ADDRESSES section. The revised process will not provide for new school starts nor grade level expansions. The revised procedures will provide more continuity, objectivity and accountability in the priority ranking for construction of replacement education facilities; address the handling of emergency needs; and accommodate federal/tribal financial partnerships for education construction projects. We will send copies of the revised instructions to all BIA schools and schools that receive BIA funds under contract or grant. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number: 15.062 ``Replacement and Repair of Indian Schools.'') Applications for construction of Bureau- funded replacement education facilities may be submitted in accordance with the 1999 revised instructions. This Notice is the official call for applications for construction of Bureau-funded replacement education facilities. BIA's Office of Indian Education Programs' Line Officers will conduct training on the revised instructions and ranking criteria for all schools under their administrative jurisdiction. The BIA Education Line Officers, in March 1999, will canvas the schools to find out whether they intend to submit an official application for replacement school construction and to identify the person who will be the point of contact for correspondence. Each potential applicant mustsubmit their response to their Education Line Officer by close of business of the due date specified for that response. BIA will place all respondents on the mailing list and provide them with instructions and application forms. We will send all potential applicants the specifics relating to training location, date, and times by certified mail. Applications will be accepted beginning June 28, l999, until July 16, 1999. We will use the criteria in the revised instructions to review and evaluate all applications that we receive on or before the deadline. This Notice is published under authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the Departmental Manual at 209 DM 8. 25 U.S.C. 2005(c) directed BIA to publish, in the Federal Register, the system used to determine priorities for school construction projects and to submit a current priority ranking for school construction projects at the time any budget request is presented to Congress. The Conference Report for the FY 1992 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, House Report No. 256, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. 46 (1991), indicated that Congress wanted the Department to revise the priority ranking process for new school construction. The Conference Report said that BIA should emphasize tribal consultation and improve the objectivity of the ranking process, provide continuity to the priority ranking list, and provide procedures for handling emergency needs. The Education Line Officers will conduct training for applicants on how to complete their applications. Tribes and BIA-funded school boards will receive advance, written notice of training session dates, times, and locations for tribes and schools under their respective jurisdictions.
Dated: March 22, 1999. Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs. [FR Doc. 99-7658 Filed 3-26-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-02-P