The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Division of School Operations was established on June 12, 2014, pursuant to Secretarial Order #3334. The mission of School Operations is to support the BIE educational mission and to provide bureau-funded schools optimum services that enable delivery of high-quality education at bureau operated and tribally controlled schools.
The Deputy Bureau Director for BIE School Operations oversees the BIE budget, finance, acquisitions, grants management, safety management, environmental and facilities-related issues of direct concern to BIE funded schools and Tribal Colleges and Universities. The Deputy Bureau Director is responsible for managing BIE’s billion-dollar portfolio of annual discretionary, transfer, supplemental, and construction dollars appropriated by Congress, and overseeing a staff of over 120 employees engaged in providing services to stakeholders geographically located across Indian County. The Deputy Bureau Director, School Operations is the primary administrative support resource serving 183 bureau-funded elementary and secondary school administrators, helping resolve administrative bottlenecks, fast-track priorities, implement best practices, and meet various audit and compliance reporting requirements.
School Operations performs the following mission-support activities:
- Strengthening and supporting sovereignty efforts of tribal nations to operate BIE funded schools.
- Providing direction, resources, and services to tribes so they can help their students attain the highest levels of student achievement.
- Developing a strategic budget that is aligned with and supports BIE’s priority instructional focus of providing resources and services to tribes.
- Providing professional development training to support program compliance and delivery of services by ensuring required certifications/accreditations and ongoing continuous improvement in safety, acquisition, and grants management.
Points of Contact:
Sharon Pinto
Deputy Bureau Director for School Operations
Sharon.Pinto@bie.edu
Emmalani Longenecker
Specialist Assistant
Emmalani.Longenecker@bie.edu
