DENVER — Dozens of states that crafted new education policies to compete for a share of the $3.4 billion “Race to the Top” school-grant prizes were shut out.
Now, as the 11 winning states and the District of Columbia set about spending their awards, the losing states are left wondering what to do about ambitious overhauls they planned to fund with the money.
In Colorado, for example, lawmakers had the prize in mind earlier this year when they adopted a contentious plan to pay teachers based on student performance. Now, state educators are obligated to come up with a new evaluation for teachers - with no new money to pay for it.
“There was no Plan B for paying for these changes when they were rushing to get them for ‘Race to the Top,’” said Henry Roman, an elementary school teacher in Denver and head of the city’s teachers union.
“People have great ideas for reforming education, and we welcome that, but these great ideas need to be matched by resources,” Roman said. “Our principals are really exhausted, and now they’re being required to do more - with no support.”
Many states are in the same boat. Almost 30 states tried to make themselves more attractive to federal “Race to the Top” judges by highlighting new laws or policies on charter schools, teacher evaluations and how to turn around low-performing schools.
In 2008, the year before the contest was announced, five states changed teacher evaluation laws. Between 2009 and 2010, 18 states changed teacher-evaluation laws, in some cases explicitly tying the legislation to “Race to the Top” requirements.
From the outset, federal education officials knew many of those states wouldn’t end up with extra money. Instead, the incentive was just the carrot they hoped for as states lined up to craft overhaul plans that matched Washington’s thoughts on improving education.
“It certainly spurred considerable policy change,” said Sabrina Laine, director of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, a Washington-based group funded by the Department of Education that tracked states’ responses to the grants contest.
Some states are vowing to plow ahead as best they can without federal money. Others are sticking with their plans, but pushing back deadlines because of tight budgets. And a few are bracing for fights over whether to abandon the overhaul plans altogether.
Many in the losing states say they still believe in the changes they vowed to make.
“These reforms were long overdue,” said Michigan’s Harrison Blackmond, head of his state’s chapter of Democrats for Education Reform.
That state loosened its cap on charter schools and instituted its first statewide requirement that student performance factor into teacher evaluations. Both were changes Blackmond says were unlikely without the prospect of getting “Race to the Top” money.
“It’s unfortunate that sometimes we need that big prize to spur reform that’s essential and necessary, but that’s where we were,” Blackmond said. “It was an important incentive, and frankly it provided cover for some Democrats who needed to be able to tell the unions this was coming from a Democratic administration.”
However, even critics of the changes proposed in many losing states are skeptical about the prospects for unwinding changes made with the grant money in mind.
“The battles we went through last year were too painful, and I don’t think anyone wants to reopen old wounds,” said Colorado state Sen. Evie Hudak, a vocal opponent of Colorado’s teacher tenure change. Hudak was cynical about how Colorado would proceed on its overhaul plan with no federal money.
“We’re stuck now. The mandates are all there, but we don’t have the money,” said Hudak, a Democrat. “The whole thing was poorly thought out.”
Bruce Baker, a Rutgers University associate professor and expert in school finance,said the “Race to the Top” had losing states in mind as well as the winners.
“The side goal of this program was to break the logjam against this kind of reform - and on that I think you have to say it did what they hoped,” Baker said. He is a critic of the “Race to the Top” contest but said it succeeded in prompting states to make the changes Washington favored.
“A lot of states jumped on the bandwagon in a race for that money,” Baker said.
And there may be a glimmer of hope for the losers. Some Democrats in Congress have proposed a third round of funding, with awards possible for new states. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has proposed awarding new grants to single districts, not just states.
One Democratic sponsor of the extension plan said it could prove popular with the new Republican majority in the House. And if not, any changes that stick in losing states will make the effort worthwhile, Colorado Rep. Jared Polis said.
“Even the states that didn’t get it are winners for their students,” Polis said.
In Colorado, the sponsor of the teacher-tenure bill, Rep. Christine Scanlan, joked that state officials may want to simply resubmit their old proposals.
“One of my colleagues said we should just send it back with a note that says, ‘Here you go. Now just send us the damn money,’” Scanlan said.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 12/06/2010