BENA-The Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School Board accepted the resignations of the school superintendent and principal at Thursday night's board meeting. The decision comes a week after students at the high school in Bena protested some decisions by the administration.

School Board Chairman Rocky Papasodora declined to elaborate on the board's decision, deferring official comment to the Leech Lake Tribal Council, however in a split decision on Superintendent Crystal Redgrave's resignation, Papasodora cast the deciding vote to accept the resignation. The votes were cast after a three-hour executive session.

Principal Cheryl Poitra's resignation also was accepted by the board, with three voting yes, one no vote and one member remaining silent. Both Poitra's and Redgrave's resignations were submitted May 6, a day after a student walkout.

The board also passed a motion to terminate high school Dean of Students Gerry Hoyum. Special Education Coordinator Pam Walker will be acting as interim superintendent.

Recent personnel concerns come after the school, located on the Leech Lake Reservation and Chippewa National Forest land, has become a prime example of how schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education need more money.

High school students get off the bus to walk into their school-a "pole barn" originally built to be used as an auto mechanic and bus garage, where students and faculty are exposed to mold and fungus through the buildings faulty ventilation system.

"This facility has severe structural and mechanical deficiencies and lacks proper insulation," Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Chairwoman Carri Jones testified Wednesday in Washington. "It does not meet safety, fire and security standards."

Jones brought her concerns regarding before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee at the invitation of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.

"At Leech Lake, the dire need to replace the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school is a symbol of one of the major challenges facing the Bureau of Indian Education," Jones said in her testimony.

Jones said it is "vital" that action be taken to address deficiencies of schools in Indian Country and the focus on challenging physical conditions has taken away from recognition of academic achievements. Jones testified the school suffers from exposed wiring, lack of a proper communication system, roof leaks, rodents, uneven floors, poor lighting, sewer problems and lack of handicap access.

"Every child deserves a safe place to learn," Franken said in an email to the press. "But it's unjust to expect students to succeed academically if we fail to provide them with a proper environment to achieve that success."

Franken said he saw the "rundown conditions" at the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school and invited Jones to Capitol Hill to tell the students' story. Franken, along with U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., and U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Minn., whose district covers the Leech Lake Reservation, toured the school last month.

Approximately a dozen high school students walked out of class May 5 in protest of recent administration-level changes, including dismissal of their dean of students and teachers.

Among the students' demands was the removal of Redgrave and Poitra. In an interview after the May 5 protest, Redgrave called the students exercising their rights "commendable" and said through teamwork the school would work through the issue internally.

It has yet to be confirmed if Redgrave and Poitra were asked to resign or if they submitted resignation letters, but the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school is advertising to fill a superintendent and a principal vacancy on its website. Attempts to contact Redgrave and Poitra were not successful. Messages left for Jones and other members of the tribal council were not returned.

The Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school is operated by the LLBO and governed by the School Board. It is one of 63 schools funded by the BIE. Jones said in her testimony the BIE has a $1.3 million construction backlog.

"We appreciate the difficult decisions facing the BIE, but our kids should not be the ones forced to shoulder this burden," Jones testified Wednesday.

Also on Thursday, Kline chaired a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing to examine the federal government's mismanagement of Native American schools that included testimony from Dr. Charles M. "Monty" Roessel, director of the BIE.

Student walkouts are part of what created the school. In 1975, 70 students from Cass Lake schools participated in a walkout resulting in the creation of the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School. The Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school was named for a local Ojibwe who lived in the Leech Lake area at the turn of the century. Translated into English, the name means "Hole in the Day."

The school was founded as an alternative school with 35 students from the Leech Lake Reservation. School enrollment has grown into the hundreds and students who live near, not only on the reservation, make up the student body.

Jones acknowledged in her testimony that students have withdrawn from the school and transferred to other schools due to the school's unsafe surroundings.