WASHINGTON –Teachers across Maryland are asking students to write more. The state’s curriculum had begun to undergo a great deal of change this year as educators try to bring students in line with new core standards.
According to Maryland State Department of Education officials, these changes, as well as the further improvement of state curriculum, would not have been possible without federal funding through Race to the Top, the Obama administration’s sweepstakes program.
But drafted funding legislation for the Department of Education would curb these resources for states that did not win, as Maryland did in 2010, the second round of Race to the Top.
Inside the 100-plus pages of the spending proposal for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments for 2012 is the elimination of the Race to the Top program.
Congress has stalled on reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, the policy created under President George W. Bush, leading Education Secretary Arne Duncan, some critics argue, to use Race to the Top money as way to create a new national education policy.
“If the administration thought it was going to get another close to a billion dollars to repeat Race to the Top, they were not calculating correctly,” said Russ Whitehurst, director of the Brown Center on Education at Brookings. “Conservatives have reacted predictably and appropriately given their governmental philosophy to a federal program that is essentially a golden leash.”
The school-improvement grant program awarded around $4.35 billion in stimulus dollars in two waves last year to 11 states and the District of Columbia. Two hundred million dollars will be available for a third phase of the grants to be awarded this year.
The spending bill deals with the Race to the Top request for the next fiscal year – $900 million to focus on specific districts, rather than states, according to Liz Utrup of the Department of Education.
The current bill would not touch Race to the Top dollars yet to be spent in states like Maryland, a committee spokeswoman said. It only affects the appropriations for the next fiscal year.
While a markup for the legislation has yet to be scheduled, Whitehurst said the idea of outright elimination to Race to the Top could be a sign of things to come.
“I think we’ve effectively seen the last of Race to the Top things, if by Race to the Top you mean a lot of discretion to the administration and the Secretary of Education to decide how significant pots of money are ladled out to states and districts—I think we’ve seen the last of that,” he said.
Proponents of Race to the Top say it is a way to improve struggling schools and reduce achievement gaps, but those against the program—mainly conservatives—argue it gives the federal government too much influence where it doesn’t belong. A release from the Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee pegs Race to the Top as one of 30 education programs that are “duplicative, inefficient, or unauthorized.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor leader spoke to reporters Monday about the overall spending bill.
“We’re trying to fashion a package that will reflect our commitment to the limited government we believe in,” he said.
“We’re very interested in curbing the appetite for spending, and it’s obvious the other side is not interested in doing that.”
Cindy Brown, vice president for education policy at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning Washington-based think tank, said partisan infighting may actually help Race to the Top. Brown predicts the 2012 budget will be voted on as an omnibus bill, allowing the program to possibly receive some funding.
If passed as is, the current spending bill would fund the Department of Education at $69 billion dollars, 3 percent below last year’s level and 14 percent below the administration’s request.