PLEASANT POINT, Maine — A congressional spending bill that appears to be headed toward approval contains up to $20 million for a new elementary school for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, according to U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree.
Pingree released a prepared statement early Friday indicating that the Beatrice Rafferty School is the only school in the country to receive construction funding as part of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education budget in the appropriations bill.
Congressional leaders reached agreement earlier this week on the omnibus spending bill, which is expected to fund all federal agencies, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security, through September 2015. The House approved the bill Thursday night, and the Senate is expected to do so by this weekend, Pingree indicated in the statement.
Pingree, who is on the House appropriations subcommittee that sets the budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said she has pushed for construction funding to replace the school. She and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on the subcommittee, visited the Rafferty School this past June.
Two members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet — Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Education Secretary Arne Duncan — toured the school in August.
“The school has been targeted for replacement for a decade. It’s in terrible shape with mold and weakened walls,” Pingree said in Friday’s statement. “That’s a bad learning environment, and it’s time to replace it. This funding will allow the community to build a new school that will last for generations to come.”
Ron Jenkins, superintendent of Maine Indian Education, said in the same statement that construction could begin as early as April or May and take 18 to 24 months to complete.
“This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” Jenkins said. “I know how hard Rep. Pingree has worked on this, and everyone here really appreciates what she’s done for us.”
