CALIFORNIA MAY WIN SMALLER GRANT FROM FEDERAL 'RACE TO THE TOP'

California's previous plan for schools could have won $700 million from 'Race to the Top,' but federal officials may award $50 million to the Golden State after revisions.

by Howard Blume - LA Times | http://lat.ms/l2OVAU

From left, Ted Mitchell, then-president of the California board of education, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-State Superintendent Jack O'Connell sign the second phase of the "Race to the Top" application at Lafayette Elementary School in Long Beach. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / June 1, 2010)

May 26, 2011 - California and eight other states are in line to receive a consolation prize after falling short in the widely publicized "Race to the Top" competition for federal school-reform grants. The belated funding, as much as $50 million for the Golden State, would recognize the quality of California's plan but with a potential reward that would be a fraction of the payoff received by earlier recipients.

Federal officials also announced a new competition Wednesday for grants from a $500-million fund established to promote early childhood education. This opportunity arises as the Los Angeles Unified School District is poised to slash funding to such programs amid an ongoing budget crisis.

The Race to the Top dollars would go to state finalists that fell short in two previous rounds.

"We had many more competitive applications than we had funds to award," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Every state that applied … has a blueprint for raising educational quality across America. These funds will encourage states to continue their courageous work to challenge the status quo."

To claim the money, California must scale back its most recent plan, for which it could have received $700 million. The revised proposal must pass muster with federal officials, and there could be complications.

The new state schools superintendent, Tom Torlakson, strongly opposed provisions of the state's first Race to the Top application. And pending legislation could restrict the future expansion of charter schools, a limitation that federal officials oppose.

"That would clearly put us in a disadvantageous position to compete for those federal dollars," said Jed Wallace, who heads the California Charter Schools Assn.

On the other hand, a group of seven school systems, including L.A. Unified and Long Beach Unified, has already pushed forward with measures outlined in the state's second, nearly successful application.

The districts are planning the looming shift to national curriculum standards recently adopted by California. The federal application also had included a commitment to using student test-score data as part of teachers' evaluations, among other elements.

"The bottom line is that we can't do this just for the money, and we shouldn't," said Long Beach Supt. Christopher J. Steinhauser. "We need to do these reforms based on what's best for students."

The early education grants drew an enthusiastic response from advocates; such programs have fallen under the budget knife in many financially strapped school systems.

"At the very least, it dangles a big carrot in front of state policymakers, who may be prone to forget the long-term payoff that comes from making investments in early childhood programs," said Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the Washington, D.C.-based New America Foundation.

YouTube: DOE MEETING WITH PARENTS: A Conversation with Parents about Parental Involvement and Education

Washington DC: May 26, 2010:
"A new era of cooperation with parents, students and families across the nation"

Report: SCHOOL STIMULUS FUNDS NOT USED AS INTENDED

 

Listen to the Story: Weekend Edition Sunday [3 min 45 sec]

Read The Report: Education Department IG On States And Stimulus Funds

by Claudio Sanchez | National Public Radio | Weekend Edition Sunday

October 11, 2009 -- The Department of Education's inspector general reports that some states are using stimulus dollars to replace money they've cut from their education budget — despite instructions to the contrary.

When the Department of Education began releasing stimulus funds last April, it told states the money was to be used to boost funding for schools and colleges and protect key programs and jobs.

And from the get-go, the Obama administration's message to states was that stimulus funds earmarked for education are to "supplement, not supplant" state funding for schools and colleges.

"We're really focused on making sure states are using the stimulus money well," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan."But what we want to do is make sure people aren't playing games."

Shuffling Funds

Nonetheless, it wasn't long before the Education Department started hearing about states playing what it called "shell games" with stimulus funds. In at least one case, department officials blocked a state from drawing stimulus money because it was cutting school funding so deeply.

This growing dispute with states has become so politically charged that the department declined to comment for this story.

The department's inspector general, on the other hand, isn't shy at all.

In its report about how states were spending stimulus funds, the inspector general's office found that over a dozen states are inappropriately using stimulus dollars to replace the money they're cutting from education. It specifically cited Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

"We're really perplexed at this report and need to sort it out," says Thomas Murphy, spokesman for Connecticut's department of education. He says his state got high marks this summer, when federal education officials looked at its proposal for spending stimulus funds.

"These funds came with the greatest flexibility to help states stabilize their education programs, and that's how Connecticut used those funds," Murphy says.

Murphy says Connecticut is in compliance as long as it doesn't cut education spending below 2006 levels. But it's clear that lots of states won't be able to maintain that level of funding, let alone boost spending on education, as the Obama administration would like.

Not Enough To Cover Shortfalls

According to Jon Shure of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 25 states have cut funding for K-12 education, and 34 have cut higher-education funding. Shure says that the stimulus has covered no more than 30 percent of states' budget shortfalls.

"States are facing such a severe crisis that a lot of the federal money is just helping states stay even and avoid further budget cuts," Shure says.

Minnesota, for example, is balancing its budget by delaying almost $2 billion in payments to schools. Michigan plans to cut per-student funding by $218. Missouri has indefinitely frozen funding for its public colleges.

"We have to make do with the money we have, and given that our revenues are doing much worse than anticipated, we will have to make additional reductions in the budget to keep it in line with available revenue," says Linda Luebbering, Missouri's budget director.

Education, says Luebbering, will be the last thing Missouri cuts.

Duncan warns that if states cut education below 2006 levels and use stimulus funds to plug holes in their education budgets, he may exclude them from billions of dollars that the administration is offering states for reforming their schools.

• The OIG Hotline is a toll-free telephone number (1-800-MISUSED) and email box (oig.hotline@ed.gov) where individuals can report potential instances of fraud, waste, or abuse relating to Department programs.
• The percentage of the State’s total revenues expended on education must be greater than or equal to the percentage expended in the fiscal year preceding the year for which the waiver is being requested.

IN EDUCATION REFORM, SOME STATES RACE FROM THE BOTTOM: According to a report by the New Teacher Project, state laws have disqualified some states from winning Race to the Top money

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California was one of five states ranked least likely to compete for the money, according to a report released this August by the New Teacher Project.    “California will take whatever money it can get,” said Brian Edward, a policy analyst for EdSource, a California education watchdog.

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by Chris Linden | Medhill Reports - Northwestern University.  A Washington publication of the Medill School.

Thursday, August 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—State officials are scrambling to win a federal competition that encourages education reform, but as they modify their education laws to get in line, high hurdles are forcing some of the states into a race from the bottom.

At stake is $4.35 billion in federal stimulus cash from the Department of Education. The Race to the Top Fund is only a small chunk, but states are finding it’s difficult to pass up the money.

Experts suggest Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is using Race to the Top as political leverage, positioning states for an upcoming revision to No Child Left Behind. Some states are perfectly positioned, experts said, but there’s a long road ahead for others.

“California will take whatever money it can get,” said Brian Edward, a policy analyst for EdSource, a California education watchdog.

California was one of five states ranked least likely to compete for the money, according to a report released this August by the New Teacher Project. The group, which supports initiatives to train teachers and measure their performance, also rated Nevada, Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania as ineligible because state laws and revised stimulus requests disqualify them from the federal competition.

To qualify, states must show reformed education laws fitting four federal priorities: standardized curriculum; building new student data systems; linking teacher performance to test scores, and raising the number of charter schools.

In California, the biggest hang-up involves the use of test data to evaluate a teacher’s effectiveness. State law prevents using students’ test scores to rate a teacher, except for the purposes of local school districts, where officials can monitor a student’s progress from year to year.

Secretary Duncan has several times called those laws a “firewall” that stall reform. He has suggested student test scores should be used to evaluate a teacher’s effectiveness.

Duncan’s suggestion has met with fierce resistance from teachers and their unions, who argue that student scores should not be a sole factor in evaluating teachers.

Chris Linden/MNS

Representatives for state and national teachers unions said test scores must be combined with other factors, such as observation by a principal, lesson planning forms and portfolios. They said they fear test data vary too much from year to year and build only a partial picture of a teacher’s performance.

“Just like we think a student is more than a number, we think a teacher is more than a test score,” said Robert Kim, a senior policy analyst for the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union.

The temptation of those federal dollars, though, is driving states to fall in line. Officials in many states are proposing changes that would better position them for a stake in that cash from Washington. But places like California and Wisconsin, where the barriers are higher, will need more time to prepare, experts said.

States can apply for the money later this year, though other states will wait for the second phase in late 2010. Most states are mobilizing now.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in late August proposed sweeping changes to state laws that would link test scores to teacher performance, lift charter school caps and provide more options for children in under-performing schools.

Given the state’s budget crisis, it’s hard to pass up additional federal money, said Edward, the California policy analyst. Despite the best of intentions, it will take time to develop the best reforms, Edward said. California has a long road ahead.

“Right now, some of those [reforms] are a dream in California,” Edwards said.