"One day before the deadline for commitments to Race to the Top, state education officials were again encouraging ambivalent school districts to sign on. The California Teachers Association, for the first time, was explicitly encouraging union locals not to. And that could spell trouble for the state’s application.State officials said they needed signed memorandums of understanding by Friday, so that they could finish the budget for the Race to the Top proposal by Jan. 19, when it’s due in Washington. Nearly 800 superintendents and charter school leaders, in charge of more than 60 percent of state’s students, had indicated they would participate in the program, if California wins a piece of the $4.3 billion competition."