"SANTA CRUZ -- For local educators only one thing is clear about the urgent push to qualify for Race to the Top -- that it is, in fact, a race.
But exactly what the new $4.3 billion federal program is a race to or for -- or what might be at the finish line -- remain up in the air. To qualify for the funds, the state wants school districts and county education offices to agree in the next few weeks to making reforms outlined in President Barack Obama's controversial initiative.
But just before the long holiday break, education leaders say they are reluctant to hastily sign a legal agreement without any guarantee they'll get any of the money or whether it would even cover the cost of any reform measures. Even if California is among the dozen or so states selected to receive Race to the Top money, it's unclear how Sacramento would dole it out or whether the money would have any real impact amid deepening cuts from lawmakers."
But exactly what the new $4.3 billion federal program is a race to or for -- or what might be at the finish line -- remain up in the air. To qualify for the funds, the state wants school districts and county education offices to agree in the next few weeks to making reforms outlined in President Barack Obama's controversial initiative.
But just before the long holiday break, education leaders say they are reluctant to hastily sign a legal agreement without any guarantee they'll get any of the money or whether it would even cover the cost of any reform measures. Even if California is among the dozen or so states selected to receive Race to the Top money, it's unclear how Sacramento would dole it out or whether the money would have any real impact amid deepening cuts from lawmakers."