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12-1-09 'NJ will hold off applying for $200 to $400M in fed'l education funds'
The Record "New Jersey appears ready to sit out the first round of competition for a slice of $4.35 billion in federal dollars for education reform in January because of the timing of the transition to a new governor..."

N.J. will hold off applying for $200M to $400M in federal education funds

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 ,By Leslie Brody, The Record

  New Jersey appears ready to sit out the first round of competition for a slice of $4.35 billion in federal dollars for education reform in January because of the timing of the transition to a new governor.

The first round of applications for so-called “Race to the Top” funds are due on Jan. 19 — the same day that Governor-elect Chris Christie will take office. Due to its population, New Jersey would be eligible for $200 million to $400 million if it applied and won.

U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has called Race to the Top the “moon shot” of education nationwide: competition will be keen and it is unclear how many states will get money. Applications are supposed to show a detailed blueprint for raising student achievement as well as extensive buy-in from a wide cast of state and district education authorities.

States that skip the January round can wait until June but it is unclear how much money will be left then.

 “It would appear that (we) are able to apply for the funding at a later date which will allow for a more thorough application,” Maria Comella, spokeswoman for the governor-elect’s transition team wrote in an email Monday night.  She could not be reached for further clarification Tuesday.

Education commissioner Lucille Davy says she does not want to commit the incoming governor to fulfill proposals created under current leadership.

“Since the new administration is taking over, they will be the ones who have to administer whatever the big idea is and it may be that their priorities might not mesh with ours,” education spokeswoman Kathryn Forsyth said Monday.

“It’s a huge, comprehensive application,” she added. “You’re being asked to hold people accountable, raise scores and show how you will use the data to make decisions&hellipIt’s not something where three people sit down and work on it over the weekend.”

Some education advocates, however, are dismayed by the decision to delay.

Paterson Education Fund sent out an email blast Tuesday alluding to New Jersey’s $1 billion budget hole this current year, asking supporters to call the governor’s office and transition team to push them to apply now. “Successfully applying for this money will save us from major cuts to schools and other needed services in our communities,” the email stated. “Act now.”

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states facing a transition to a new governor when the applications are due.

Forsyth said education chiefs were told they would not be penalized if they delayed making a pitch until the second round of applications, which are due June 1.

U S. Education Department spokesman Justin Hamilton noted, however, that there is no set goal for how much of the $4.35 billion pot will be awarded in the first phase. “If there were a larger number of winners in round one, that would leave less money for round two,” he said

States that apply in the first round but don’t make the cut will get help fixing their requests, he added. “If you don’t win a Phase One grant, we’ll give those states detailed feedback on where we believe their application needs more work,” he said. “We certainly hope all states apply.”

States can win Race to the Top money only once.

Federal officials aim for improvements in four key areas: adopting common standards and tests that prepare students for college and the workplace; building data systems that track student growth and inform instruction; developing better teachers; and turning around the lowest-achieving schools

The initiative has stirred controversy because it encourages charter schools, which some opponents say siphon money and promising students from public districts. It also requires that states have no barrier to merit pay for teachers. Teachers’ unions have long fought tying teachers’ pay to students’ test scores, saying the practice increases the pressure to teach to the tests and penalizes teachers who face the most challenging students.

Despite those concerns, many states are rushing to apply for the federal money in a time of acute budget shortfalls. Like many states, New Jersey is reeling from lower than expected tax revenues due to the recession. Corzine said last month he was looking for cuts of up to $400 million in payments to schools, hospitals and towns to help close a roughly $1 billion budget gap.

Corzine and Christie have different views on education. Corzine wanted to expand public preschools but put such plans on hold due to budget woes. During the campaign, Christie criticized expanding public preschools beyond the poverty-stricken areas where the state Supreme Court has mandated them. Christie also supports using vouchers to provide an escape from badly-performing schools.

The New Teacher Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the achievement gap, released a report in September handicapping the states’ positions in applying for grants. It called New Jersey “competitive,” one notch below the highest rating of “highly competitive.’’ The report said New Jersey partially meets guidelines for testing, data to support instruction, and developing teachers. It minimally meets goals for turning around struggling schools and an emphasis on science, math and technology.

E-mail: brody@northjersey.com