“I’m disappointed,” Mr. Grier said. “It was potentially a lot of money for our state. I’m not one to sell my soul for money, but I have 100,000 kids in Houston who don’t read at grade level, and I don’t agree with people who say resources don’t make a difference.”
Texas must be jealous of my home state of California-- that's the only reasonable explanation for ol' Rick Perry's latest case of hoof-in-mouth disease. We in CA are riding our own education juggernaut nearer and nearer to the edge of the cliff. Texas apparently wants to nose us out of the way and tumble over the edge first. Refusing "Race to the Top" funds, even with that program's strings, puts Texas just a little ahead in the "Race to Meltdown." The first lemming to get there, one must keep in mind, is still a lemming. (And please pardon the mixed metaphors.)
January 14, 2010
Texas Shuts Door on Millions in Education Grants
By SAM DILLON
Texas will not compete for up to $700 million in federal education money, Gov. Rick Perry said on Wednesday, calling the Obama administration’s main school improvement grant program an unacceptable intrusion on states’ control over education.
Mr. Perry’s decision, days before a Jan. 19 deadline, interrupted months of work by Texas officials and a consulting company financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to prepare the application for the federal grant competition, known as Race to the Top. Texas had been eligible to win up to $700 million of a total of $4 billion the department will award for encouraging charter schools, improving teacher instruction, overhauling schools and joining an effort to adopt common academic standards.
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