Some educators won't buy Obama's Race to the Top program, and states are turning down Race to the Top funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
Why would states turn the money down?
Basically, it's because educators don't want to comply with the federal qualifications for the money.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Thursday the finalization of an application process for the final 4.35 billion dollars.
However, about half of the states will not attempt to accomplish four major reforms to qualify for Race to the Top funds, including:
• Developing teacher evaluations that are tied to student performance,
• Streamlining the process to allow professionals in other fields to gain teacher certification,
• Increasing the number of charter or other alternative schools, and
• Developing methods to deal with failing schools.
So why haven't many states adopted these reforms, especially when the state could land extra millions of dollars?
There is the obvious fact that every time federal dollars come with mandates, they end up costing more in the long run. This alleged to be the case with No Child Left Behind, and many school districts have sued the Department of Education over this issue.
There are other reasons for states electing not to enact the reforms.
"The school employee unions view them as threats," explained Michael Van Beek, the education policy director of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
"They fear more charter schools because the schools are not typically unionized, and reconstituted schools may follow their example."
In addition, "tracking individual teachers' progress could lead to performance pay and threaten the union's rigid compensation system."
Van Beek argues that the students and taxpayers are losing out due to the state refusing to accept these funds.
"If the (Michigan) governor and Legislature refuse to consider constructive change, taxpayers should reject any proposed tax hikes," he said.
"There's no reason to feed more money into a system that refuses the most moderate reforms."
For more information, see:
Have teachers' unions been betrayed by Obama?
State ignores $600M for schools
Duncan, Obama demand education reforms before dispersing stimulus funds
Lawsuit against No Child Left Behind dismissed
Charter school list grows in metro Detroit area
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Comments
Very well said. Teachers in TN., a state that normally performs low compared to other states, of course accepted this Race To The Top money. Tennessee teachers were sold as well as the education of everyone's child that attends a public system and the charters are no better. There is less of a check and balance system in some charters, so no one is watching the money, how it's spent, where is come from.
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