Race to the Top school funds again skip Michigan

Nathan Hurst / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- Michigan has lost out on another round of federal Race to the Top education funding.

The news came as Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke today at the National Press Club in Washington, where he named 19 finalists who made the cut for the second round of funding: Arizona; California; Colorado; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Illinois; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Ohio; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island and South Carolina.

Michigan submitted one of 36 applications for a slice of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funds, which seek to reward states that implement sweeping public schools reforms aimed at improving student performance.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Department of Education released a statement saying the governor is "disappointed" Michigan wasn't counted among finalists despite broad support from school districts and teachers. Lack of union support was a factor in Michigan not winning in a first round of funding earlier this year.

"We are disappointed that Michigan's efforts to strengthen our public schools and ensure that every child is successful were not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education," Granholm said. "We felt our strong application effectively detailed our efforts to improve instruction and student performance, and had extraordinary support from local school districts and the labor unions."

Duncan wouldn't elaborate on what factors figured into the winning 19 applications, saying scoring for the states' plans wouldn't be released since the selection process is ongoing. He also noted states that didn't make this cut would be eligible for other funds, including more from the Race to the Top program, in coming months.

There is $3.4 billion in this fiscal year's Race to the Top funding; an additional $1.35 billion has been requested by the White House for the 2011 budget.

The foundation of the state's Race to the Top application was the state's new education reform laws enacted in January. The state hoped for nearly $400 million to implement the reforms.

Those new laws provide a statewide structure to turn around low-performing schools; improve instruction by providing supports to teachers and administrators whose students are not showing academic improvement over time; expand quality charter schools; align curriculum and assessments with new common core standards; and provide alternate routes to teacher and administrator certification.

"We are in the process of implementing those reforms and we are committed to moving Michigan schools forward to give every child in Michigan the highest quality education and prepare them for the jobs of the 21st Century," state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said.

Panels will evaluate the 19 finalists next month, Duncan said, and winners will be announced in September.

Michigan was shut out of the first round of funding as well, but the Obama administration hasn't sidestepped addressing deteriorating conditions in the state's schools. President Barack Obama delivered the commencement address at Kalamazoo Central High earlier this year, while Duncan has made public comments throughout this year on reforms being driven in the fiscally-challenged Detroit Public Schools system.

nhurst@detnews.com (202) 662-8738 Detroit News Staff Writer Karen Bouffard contributed.