Still smoldering over a disappointing showing in round one, California has decided to take one more stab at the hundreds of millions of dollars offered in the federal Race to the Top contest.
Flickr photo by Bart Everson
The state's new strategy involves showcasing school districts in LA, San Francisco, Long Beach, Sanger, Clovis and Fresno. But is that the right approach to overcome the doubts of the judges?
To be sure, there is political pressure for the state to continue to vie for the money. After appearing ambivalent over reapplying, federal officials lobbied state officials to continue. That included, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who, according to the LA Times, assured Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that the state's new strategy would get "due consideration". But to rise from its 27th out of 40 showing, massive improvements must be made.
Reviewers expressed serious doubts about the state's ability to implement the reforms. Tied to those apprehensions were questions about the quality of the relationship between the state and teachers' unions. According to one judge:
Unions are critical stakeholders in many of California's school districts. The application did not discuss the reasons for the low level of union engagement. It is not clear if unions are opposed to the Race to the Top initiative or if the State did not appropriately engage unions in the discussions surrounding district participation. The lack of union buy-in at this stage raises serious concerns about the ability of the State to implement the Race to the Top reforms...
Instead of improving, the state-district-union relationship seems to be stuck in a downward spiral. In LA, San Francisco, Long Beach and Fresno, unions are at odds with local school districts over a myriad of issues. The San Francisco Chronicle offers this nugget:
The United Educators of San Francisco, the district's teachers union, signed on for round one of California's Race to the Top application, but there were no guarantees for round two, said union President Dennis Kelly.
Tensions in the negotiations over a contract to help close a budget shortfall have damaged bonds between the district and the union. And Kelly hadn't even heard that Garcia was part of the round-two team.
"Nobody's talked to me about it at all," he said.
Does anyone think the teacher strikes in the Oakland and Capistrano school districts prove that relations are getting better? Could even more strikes be near?
How does the thousands of potential teacher layoffs help the state improve its chances to score high in the contest's "producing great teachers and leaders" category?
Certainly, it makes sense to involve LA Unified in the second attempt for federal money, with it being the second largest school district in the nation and representing 11 percent of the state's total school enrollment. Yet, in what may develop into a landmark case, LA Unified is being sued over drastic teacher cuts, leading some to accuse the district of violating constitutional guarantees to a quality education.
Under these circumstances, how persuasive can LA's potential presentation be, compared to other states? Will the district's current $200 million mystery help allay judges' previous concerns over the California's possible fiscal management of any award?
And what role will the U.S. Justice Department's probe into LA's alleged systemic discrimination of English learners play? Perhaps nothing.
Perhaps.
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