An $878,780 contract for construction of a 128-pupil dormitory and other facilities for Choctaw Indian high school students and their teachers at Pearl River, Mississippi, was announced today by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. The new buildings, slated for occupancy next fall, will complete a school complex for Choctaw Indians, which includes a new high school opened this fall, an elementary-junior high school and a 40-pupil dormitory for elementary students.
The new dormitory will accommodate high school students who live beyond school bus lines (some live as far as 50 miles from the school). At present, some students are living in foster homes which are nearer to the school but are inadequate to care for their needs, Bureau officials report. Many others are not attending school at all.
The contract was awarded to Building Service Company of West Point, Mississippi. Four higher bids were received, ranging from $919,400 to $1,122,067.
The Choctaws' new high school facilities include an 8-classroom academic building with science laboratory, home economics classroom and an instructional materials center; gymnasium, including stage and band-choral room; and kitchen-dining room large enough to accommodate students from both schools. This is the only high school operated by the Bureau in Mississippi, to serve the Indians residing on nontaxable trust lands and the only one available to Choctaw Indian residents of the State.
