Our colleague, Rick Green, reports that Connecticut has lost out in the funding for the Race To The Top money.
The Courant’s longtime education reporter Grace Merritt has more details here.
Without counting the appendices, the Race To the Top application ran to more than 200 pages.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said, “This is disappointing but not unexpected news – only 15 out of 40 states were declared finalists for the first round of funding. I want to thank the members of my administration and all of the dedicated education professionals, school administrators and community leaders who worked so hard and for so long on our application.
“Federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan has assured states like Connecticut that ‘there will be plenty of money remaining in the program after the first round of funding is complete.’ I spoke this morning with Connecticut’s education commissioner, Mark McQuillan, and we reaffirmed our commitment to working closely with all stakeholders – educators, unions, parents, students, legislators and others – to ensure that our application for the next round of funding is the best it can possibly be.”
Rell continued, “All of us recognized from the beginning both the intensely competitive nature of the ‘Race to the Top’ funding process and the fact that this is only the first round of grants. Today’s decision is by no means the end of the process for Connecticut – or, for that matter, the many other states that did not make it past this first hurdle in the race. But it is obvious that we will need to do better – and we will.
“So like a competitive runner we will dust ourselves off, study what worked for today’s ‘winners’ and train even harder for the next race. My administration remains committed to ‘Race to the Top’ and to qualifying for every federal dollar available to help our state and our students.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro issued this statement:
“Although I am disappointed that Connecticut was not chosen as one of the 16 finalists in Phase 1 of the “Race to the Top,” education funding, I am hopeful that we will be included in the next round. And I am proud of the hard work our teachers and schools put into this process. I will do everything I can to make sure that their efforts, as well as the needs of our children, are recognized in Phase 2, when our state, as well as others who were overlooked, will have the opportunity to strengthen our applications and strive to be the best in a very competitive process.”
Ned Lamont, the Democratic frontrunner in the race for governor, said:
“A few weeks ago, Connecticut missed out on funding for our roads and bridges. Today, it is funding for our children’s education. Our state can’t sit around waiting for federal dollars to fall into our lap. As Governor, I’ll be our loudest advocate, working with our Congressional Delegation, leaders in Washington, and closely monitoring our state applications to make sure we’ve checked every box to make Connecticut competitive.
“New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are all finalists for this crucial education funding, while our state was left behind because our Governor wasn’t out there fighting for us. I’m going to get Connecticut off the sidelines and back in the competition for the federal funding our state needs.”