By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-915132.mp3
Albany, NY – New York and Massachusetts have been named finalists for federal "Race to the Top" education grants. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
Race to the Top is a federal competition designed to reward states for education reform. The $4.35 billion fund, representing the largest pool of federal discretionary education money in U.S. history, is part of President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
New York and Massachusetts were selected as finalists in Phase 1 of the competition - both failed to make the final cut back in March - that prompted New York to implement a new teacher evaluation system and raise the cap on charter schools.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew said: "As part of the RTTP application process, state officials were willing to work with us as they created a strategy to track student growth and to help struggling teachers and schools. It is largely thanks to their efforts that New York is in the finals for Race to the Top."
Mark Hansen is spokesman for NY Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos: "Joining 18 other states as finalists for more federal aid is good news, but it won't overshadow the facts that taxes and spending will be going up even more, school property tax bills are being prepared without a state budget in place, and the budget will soon be the latest in history."
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick says his state's Race to the Top proposal likewise represents a solid plan for moving education forward. "Massachusetts has the right plan to build upon education reform as well as the experience to fully implement that plan to benefit our students," said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. "The Race to the Top proposal outlines concrete steps and detailed plans to transform our schools and strengthen our already nationally recognized academic programs."
In all, 18 states (including Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island) and the District of Columbia are finalists. A final decision is expected in September.