COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) – The Coeur d'Alene Tribe in northern Idaho for the last two years has not made contributions to 15 school districts on or near the reservation even though the tribe's gaming compact with the state requires it to support education programs, a newspaper is reporting.

The Coeur d'Alene Press reports (http://bit.ly/ojpNr9 ) that it checked with each of the school districts that in 2009 received money from the tribe and found that the districts had received no additional money since that time.

But tribe spokesman Helo Hancock told the newspaper that the tribe has made its mandated contribution of 5 percent of annual net gaming income from its casinos to educational programs in subsequent years. He said the tribe has declined to say where the money went or hold a ceremony to mark the occasion as in past years because of friction over how the money was distributed in 2009.

“We chose not to do a public ceremony or announcement the last few years – partly because of complaints we got from some schools that others were getting larger donations (when they were made more public) – which is sad,” Hancock wrote in an email to the newspaper.

Under federal law, sovereign Indian tribes can offer gaming that is legal in the state if they negotiate a compact with the state.

In Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in 1992 negotiated an agreement with the state. In 2002, it was amended after voter's approved an initiative called the Indian Gaming and Self-Reliance Act. The amendment included a provision requiring the tribe to contribute 5 percent of gaming revenues to educational programs and schools on or near the reservation.

The tribe in July, 2009, held a ceremony announcing it had donated $1.8 million to local education agencies, increasing the total the tribe said it had donated for education to $12 million.

Besides school districts, the tribe has donated to other educational programs, including North Idaho College. But that school's vice president for community relations and marketing, John Martin, said donations go to the North Idaho College Foundation. That's a private nonprofit that Martin said doesn't release names of donors or how much was donated.

“The tribe has been a generous donor to the college in the past,” Martin said.

The tribe said it donated used office furniture from its casino in Worley to the college in 2008, a donation the tribe valued at $250,000.

The Idaho Department of Education doesn't monitor tribal donations to schools, and the National Indian Gaming Commission declined to release any information about the tribe.

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Information from: Coeur d'Alene Press, http://www.cdapress.com