Governor says Texas will not pursue Race to Top funds
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Reaction from the education community, particularly teacher groups, was split on the governor's decision not to apply for the funding. Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, called the program "the first step in federalizing our Texas school systems" and Jeri Stone, executive director and general counsel for the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, said the program includes "harmful policy requirements" that would be costly to Texas education. "The loss of autonomy and flexibility that are essential to meet the needs of Texas students is simply not worth it," she said.
On the other hand, Joanie Guthrie, spokesperson for the Texas State Teachers Association, said that while her association did have issues with some aspects of the Race to the Top program, "We believe it could have been possible to construct a $700 million grant that addressed those concerns."
Guthrie said the unfortunate part is that "the governor made this decision without talking to the education community first."
Some cash-strapped school districts in Texas would have welcomed additional funding. El Paso ISD Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia told the El Paso Times that national standards might result in more consistency among educational programs throughout the United States and called Perry's decision "disappointing" as far as the additional funding it could have provided for school districts.
In the Fort Worth ISD, Superintendent Melody Johnson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she was "extremely disappointed" about her school district missing the opportunity to garner some of the $700 million available. "We could use that money every which way you look," she said. Crowley ISD CFO Kay Kizziar told the Fort Worth newspaper that the state missed out on "an opportunity for innovative programs."
The program is based on a state's ability to incorporate reform strategies into its public education system, including: adoption of internationally benchmarked standards and assessment that prepare students for success in college and the workplace; recruiting, developing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals; building data systems to measure student success and inform teachers and principals how to improve their methods; and turning around low-performing schools.
Perry called the program a "one-size-fits-all" approach for one-time money. He said the obligations made today regarding adopting national standards and tests would be around for years to come. The governor also said he feared signing on to the reforms would require the state to have to purchase new testing materials, new teacher development tools and new textbooks. And while the federal and state governments might be at odds over what is the best way to educate the nation's children, Perry said most would rather work out the differences in Texas "with solutions that work for Texas," instead of accepting a "top-down mandate from federal bureaucrats."
Instead, said the governor, the federal government should be encouraging competition among the states. "Competition fuels innovation, which is how things get done faster and more efficiently." He said Texas would be "foolish and irresponsible" to place its children's futures in the hands of un-elected bureaucrats and eliminate parents' part in their children's education.
