Minnesota not among first group of Race to Top finalists
Minnesota’s Race to the Top application was not among the 16 first-round finalists announced by the U.S. Department of Education March 4.
The finalists in the federal grant competition were Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Minnesota was among 25 other states vying for some of the $4 billion in stimulus funding under Race to the Top.
The Minnesota Department of Education had asked for $330 million for a plan that included expanding Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Q Comp performance pay program. It is not known yet if officials will try for the second grant phase. Once first-phase winners are announced in April, the state will receive its score and comments from the reviewers.
The U.S. Department of Education said it expects to hand out no more than half the money in the first phase and there will be “very few” winners. Phase 2 applications are due June 1, with winners to be announced in September.
Education Minnesota has not supported the Minnesota application in its current form, and instead proposed an alternative plan focused on research-based efforts to improve teaching and learning and close the achievement gap. That plan was shared with state officials before they submitted their application.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised that Minnesota’s Race to the Top application wasn’t selected as a finalist,” President Tom Dooher said. “It was an underwhelming document that was long on bureaucracy while being short on innovation and ideas that truly helped children learn. Thankfully there’s time to try again.”
Dooher said the union is looking forward to working with the Minnesota Department of Education in revising the state’s application to have a better chance of success in round two.
March 04, 2010