California misses out on federal education funds

California was not selected as one of the finalists for a $4.35-billion competitive school-reform grant program, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Officials in the state were notified early Thursday morning.

California legislators, like lawmakers in other states, amended and wrote laws to qualify for a portion of the Race to the Top funding. These included several controversial proposals, including linking teachers' performance to their students' test scores. States were judged on a 500-point scale that examined the applicants' commitment to various reforms, including implementing more sophisticated data systems to track student progress and intervening in low-performing schools.

Several states, including Texas, did not apply for the first round of funding.

California could have received up to $700 million, according to federal officials.

It is unclear why California was not selected, but some experts were pessimistic about the state's chances because fewer than half of school districts and teachers unions agreed to sign an agreement requiring them to abide by the reforms.

The 16 finalists are: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

California can apply for a second phase of funding this summer.

Race to the Top was a way for the Obama administration to pressure school districts to take on reforms -- if they had the political will to do so. Budget cuts to education led many states to make changes to become eligible for the federal dollars.

-- Jason Song and Howard Blume

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Comments

[WhyamIhere]

This story is a microcosm of the problem CA has with the teacher's union. What is best for the union is not what is best for kids or parents.

Hey teacher's union, I've got a secret to share. Those kids and parents - they're your customers. And they're not happy with the service you provide.

[Dan Basalone]

This is what happens when policy is based on getting money rather than establishing enduring values regardless of the money. California has among the highest learning standards of any state and should build on that instead of trying to fit a square policy into a round money hole. Good education policy should be the goal regardless of the money.

[PAUL OLIVAS]

the federal government is sick

[Philbomb]

"It is unclear why California was not selected, but some experts were pessimistic about the state's chances because fewer than half of school districts and teachers unions agreed to sign an agreement requiring them to abide by the reforms."

SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR TO ME.

[MC]

Gee, you think that maybe the Fed knows how incompetant local government is in California??

[Sama]

The Teacher's Unions are too dumb to get out of their own way. The great thing about the Dem's takeover of the government and the collapse of the economy is that all BOTH their behaviors are now out in the open. Cut Teacher's pay to median salary for a family of 4 (about $50,000) and hire twice as many teachers. That will bring classrooms back down to 25-30 kids. End of story....... It's the UNIONS stupid!

[Malby]

Political will for reform? Nope. Not here.

[brahzer]

This race to the top was flawed to begin with...districts in California calculated that by the time the funding would trickle down to the local level it would be a insignificant amount, then the follow up guidelines for race to the top would actually nullify or cost the district more money than received by the feds...the feds still owe California millions of dollars for the Special Education costs incurred...Feds are notorious for underfunding education, or just forgetting about funding education altogether. .why should we think differently now?..before you blame teachers and unions, look carefully at the funding and the requirements to meet them...eventually most of California figured it was more trouble than it was worth ala no child left behind

[PrescottBush]

Our US Congress Rep in District 44 needs to support the President rather voting against measure other water bills (Note: Bills does not have e-verify attached to them). The high standards of UC are reflected by the case at UCSD. If the cost of undergraduate is going up, than the cost of Graduate school is up. Who is going to Graduate Schools? Governments other than the USA is sending more students to Graduate School in CA. Back to that Rep from the 44 District, what happen. He should have worked with the state Government to ensure CA gets some of this money. Sounds like a business model going really BAD. There is a difference in running State government and running a business like Ebay.

[Bart Anderson]

Unbelieveable. How much worse can it possibly get for public education in California? To lose out on this money is an outrage. Teachers union officials and elected leaders in this state are pathetic. Can some decent, talented people interested in assisting public education please come forward so this never happens again?

[Drivelphobe]

The Federal Government did the right thing. Until California gets rid of the illegal aliens in our schools, sucking up the freebies, destroying achievement scores, and creating a non-assimilating, non-English speaking sub-culture, they don't qualify for any financial assistance. This is probably why Texas was excluded as well.

[john]

How do you like obuma now all of you libs that voted for him? Heh,heh,heh!

[TD]

dear whyamihere,

i am not a teacher but i have two sisters who teach. be advised, the kids and parents are not the customers in the equation. they are the recipients of free education granted to them by the government. i have no children but nonetheless have to pay taxes to support yours. please show a little gratitude when you get something for free.

[Ruby Jackson]

Kids in California lose out because of union greed.

[Not4standardizedTests]

@Sama- how much do you think teachers make? I think for most $50,000 would be a raise! Our Teachers don't make squat and on top of that, they end up paying for supplies out of their own pocket.
I for one am glad the teachers union refused to sign the agreement. Higher test scores and standardized tests in general are not the answer to bettering our kids' education. This has been proven over and over again.
Our kids need a well rounded education with arts and music and physical education as well as math, science and literature. If we focus solely on acing a standardized test, everyone looses. Those tests are not only socioeconomically unfair, but irrelavent- i.e. how many tests have I had to pass since finishing college? One, the drivers license exam.
Do I need to pass a standardized test to get hired in a well paying job, nope .

[Adam]

Oh, yeah, Sama, that's the solution. Let's cut teacher pay and be able to higher more. THAT will get even more quality teachers in the classroom. If that happens, I'll go back to being a lawyer, where I would be earning, oh, THREE TIMES the salary that I am earning as a teacher.

[Stephen Krashen]

"Race to the Top was a way for the Obama administration to pressure school districts to take on reforms -- if they had the political will to do so."

This is not correct. Race to the Top (RTTT) is not about "reforms," it is about imposing more standards and tests on children who are already over-tested, while ignoring the real problems in education. The districts and unions who refused to go along with RTTT were the ones with the "political will" to do the right thing: they chose to protect children from an ill-conceived and expensive plan.

If California wants the extra money, they should consider dumping the High School Exit Exam. Analyst Jo Ann Behm has calculated that this exam costs California about 600 million per year, and research shows that such exams have no positive effects. They do not lead to higher employment, higher earnings, or improved academic achievement.

Qualifying for RTTT would give California a one-time payment of 700 million. Dumping the exam would save 600 million every year.

[Tracey Douglas]

Mr. Krashen is absolutely correct. Additionally, those who are not teachers, especially in high poverty schools, just don't get it. Just because one attended school does not make one an expert on education; you have no idea about the realities of the students we serve and to whom we are deeply committed. You have no concept of the overwhelming, developmentally inappropriate, and narrow curriculum we are required teach and students are expected to master. You have no idea how much money we spend on our classrooms. You have no idea how many hours we work past our contract hours on a daily basis. Teachers are underpaid in comparison to peers with similar levels of education. The problem is NOT with the teachers' union. It's about poverty.

[Sarasota Real Estate]

Reforms-you've got to be kidding. What dunce (Arnie) came up with this rigged play for education money game? His lame defense for the chaos his totally bogus Education Department games is causing is you can't just do "nothing." How about first do no harm? How about funding poor students' education equally instead of dictating failed corporate edicts from above? Arnie who has never taught is now the great reformer. How about showing some respect for teachers and quitting union busting by this Democratic administration?

[Sarasota Real Estate]

In a striking criticism of the state's school reform efforts, California was shut out Thursday in its bid for a piece of the Obama administration's $4.35 billion in education stimulus funding known as Race to the Top.