School district on Navajo Nation braces for cuts with sequester

Wednesday, March 6, 2013  

A public school district on the Navajo Nation will cut 65 jobs and may be forced to close some facilities due to a reduction in federal funds.

The Window Rock School District depends on the Department of Education, including the Impact Aid program, for funding. So the sequester, which kicked in last Friday, has a major impact on operations.

“We may have to close those schools -- we don’t have any other avenues at all,” Superintendent Debbie Jackson-Dennison told The Washington Post, referring to three that may be closed. The district also will be forced to cut back on bus routes, she said.

The Impact Aid program is seeing an immediate loss of $60 million under the sequester, Secretary Arne Duncan said in a letter to Congress.

Get the Story:
Sequester-related education cuts hitting schools on reservations, military bases (The Washington Post 3/5)

Related Stories:
Tribes brace for cuts in federal funds under budget sequester (3/1)
Eastern Cherokees prepare for budget hit with sequestration (2/27)
Indian programs at Interior face $130M cut under sequester (2/26)
Agency leaders detail effects of sequester on Indian programs (2/15)