California weighs longshot bid for school funds
Monday, April 26, 2010
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After coming in 27th out of 40 states the first time, California would have an uphill climb to win up to $700 million in the next round for federal Race to the Top education funds - an effort state officials could decide this week is a losing battle.
Or California could ignore the odds and decide to go for it.
The governor and education leaders are expected to announce as early as Tuesday whether they'll apply for the second round of federal school reform funding - a $4 billion pot to be spread among states that make the cut.
California failed to make it as a finalist in the first round, falling well shy of the points needed to get funding. Delaware and Tennessee were the only states that won first-round funding, receiving about 450 out of 500 possible points by coming up with plans with broad support to overhaul their school system.
California posted a final score of 336.8.
"There were some major gaps in our application," said David Richey, spokesman for Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss. "The state and governor's office are looking at all the pieces to see if it's realistic for us to apply."
States have to declare their intent to apply by May 4 and file an application by June 1.
Indiana announced Thursday it would pull out of the race. Kansas dropped out a week
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