RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – All the employees at the academically struggling Crazy Horse School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation have been told their contracts won't be renewed at the end of the year and they will have to reapply for their jobs.

School board chairman John Haas told the Rapid City Journal that the move was aimed at creating a school that meets students' needs by teaching reading, writing and math.

"It's not an employment agency," Haas said. "Unfortunately, some people view schools as that."

He said no individual or group was targeted and the notices went to more than 90 employees, covering everyone from the superintendent to bus drivers.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe appointed the school board two years ago to address alleged mismanagement of the Wanblee school, which has about 350 students in kindergarten through high school. The new board replaced an elected one.

Haas said a decision not to renew any staff contracts is not unheard of among reservation schools.

Crazy Horse Superintendent Pat Jones said the local board has more authority over the grant-funded school than boards at schools funded directly by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Jones said the entire staff works under one-year contracts, which are not negotiated as they are in public schools.

According to the Bureau of Indian Education website, Crazy Horse has struggled for years to meet the requirements of the federal school improvement law known as No Child Left Behind. It has been tagged for years as in need of restructuring under that law.

In the 2009-2010 school year, the school's high school graduation rate was only 30.6 percent. Only 19 percent of tested students scored in the target categories of proficient or advanced in reading and only 4 percent were proficient in math.

Haas said anyone who had a contract with the school is welcome to re-apply for a job. The deadline for submitting applications is May 13.

"There are some good people that we would like to keep on board, and we encourage them to apply," he said.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com