GAAS:155:10 Contact: Aaron McLear
For Immediate Release: Eric Alborg
Thursday, March 4, 2010 916-445-4571
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that California was not selected as a finalist for round one of the Race to the Top funding program.
This decision by the Obama Administration demonstrates that we need to be more aggressive and bolder in reforming our education system. While the reforms we passed did move our state forward, they did not go far enough because other states were more competitive, said Governor Schwarzenegger. I will continue to fight for additional education reforms to make California truly competitive for the billions of dollars our students desperately need the people of California expect nothing less.
Under the federal Race to the Top guidelines, states not funded under Race to the Top Round One will have the opportunity to apply for funding under Race to the Top Round Two with state applications due on June 1, 2010.
On July 24, 2009, President Obama and Secretary Duncan announced federal eligibility and competitiveness requirements for states to compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funding. At the time, California was ineligible to apply. Governor Schwarzenegger took immediate action, calling a special session of the legislature and introducing a bi-partisan legislative package to ensure California could become eligible for this education funding. Since then, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the legislation necessary to make California eligible to apply and then signed historic education reform legislation to give parents choices, and to require Californias lowest achieving schools to make bold changes and improve student achievement.
Governor Schwarzenegger created the California Recovery Task Force to track the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding coming into the state; work with President Barack Obama’s administration; help cities, counties, non-profits, and others access the available funding; ensure that the funding funneled through the state is spent efficiently and effectively; and maintain a Web site that is frequently and thoroughly updated for Californians to be able to track the stimulus dollars.