Florida is one of 19
finalists in a national
competition for federal
education dollars, U.S.
Education Secretary Arne
Duncan announced
Tuesday.
If the Sunshine State is
named a winner, it could
receive $700 million in
education funding. Of
that total, about $40
million would go to the
Miami-Dade school
district. Broward would
receive about $35
million.
``This would be a
tremendous infusion of
resources into our
schools at a time when
budgets are tight,''
Gov. Charlie Crist said
Tuesday. ``It would
benefit Florida's
students and teachers in
a substantial way.''
The competition, called
Race to the Top, is part
of the federal stimulus
plan.
It awards money to
states that commit to
four areas of education
reform: raising
standards, using data,
improving teacher
quality and turning
around chronically
failing schools.
The U.S. Department of
Education has $3.4
billion in funding to
distribute among the
second-round winners.
Forty-six states
submitted applications.
Each was evaluated by
peer reviewers and
federal education
officials.
Duncan, the education
secretary, expects to
fund a dozen state
proposals. ``The bottom
line is if we want
different results, we
have to do things
differently,'' he said.
Florida was a finalist
in the first round of
the competition earlier
this year. But in
placing fourth overall,
it missed out on
receiving any of the
award money. Delaware
and Tennessee won top
honors, taking home $100
million and $500
million, respectively.
Unlike Florida, Delaware
and Tennessee submitted
applications with
widespread support from
local teachers' unions.
Florida teachers unions
opposed the state's
initial application,
saying the plan for
reform was unsustainable
and would overturn many
locally negotiated
contracts.
GROUP ASSEMBLED
Before Florida applied
for the second round,
Crist assembled a group
of superintendents,
school board members,
teachers, union
representatives, parents
and business leaders to
find consensus.
The working group,
chaired by Miami-Dade
Superintendent Alberto
Carvalho, developed a
new application that
found universal support.
Florida's new
application includes
several controversial
reforms, including merit
pay for teachers.
Previous proposals to
base a portion of
teacher pay on student
test scores have been
unpopular among
educators. This plan,
however, goes beyond
test scores, taking into
account poverty,
language barriers,
parental involvement and
other factors that
influence student
achievement.
United Teachers of Dade
President Karen
Aronowitz said
collaboration was key to
Florida's being named a
finalist.
``Gov. Crist had the
wisdom to convene the
working committee that
he did and we had a much
stronger application
because of it,'' she
said. ``When you include
everyone, what you have
is something that will
work for Florida's
children.''
The Broward Teachers
Union also supported
Florida's application.
But on Tuesday, BTU
President Pat Santeramo
questioned the merits of
the Race to the Top
program given the
current economic
climate.
``At this point in time,
as Florida is struggling
financially, the program
should be held in
abeyance and the money
be used to save jobs,''
Santeramo said. ``I am
not opposed to
educational initiatives,
but I think the timing
of this whole thing is a
little off.''
Broward Superintendent
Jim Notter was ecstatic
over the news. ``I think
we have an excellent
chance of being
selected,'' he said.
``These will be new
dollars that will come
in handy.''
In addition to Florida,
the other second-round
finalists were: Arizona,
California, Colorado,
the District of
Columbia, Georgia,
Hawaii, Illinois,
Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island and South
Carolina. Each state
will make a presentation
in Washington, D.C. in
August.
A five-person delegation
including Crist,
Carvalho, state
teachers' union
President Andy Ford and
state Education
Commissioner Eric Smith
will travel to the
capital to make the case
for Florida. Winners
will be announced in
late August or early
September.
If Florida were to win,
half of the money would
be distributed to
individual school
districts through a
funding formula. The
other half would stay
with the state
Department of Education
to fund statewide
initiatives.
`STIFF COMPETITION'
Florida educators are
confident in the work
they've done.
``There is stiff
competition in this
round of 19,'' Carvalho
said. ``But Florida's
united voice will give
us the winning edge.''
Miami Herald staff
writer Carli Teproff
contributed to this
report.
