ALBANY – Governor David A. Paterson addressed a letter to members of the Legislature earlier this week, urging a speedy approval of his legislation, which would enhance New York State’s application for up to $700 million in education funding, as part of President Obama’s Race to the Top competition.
The competition, according to www.ed.gov, provides competitive grants to encourage and reward states that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform. The website also stated that awards in Race to the Top will go to states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform. Race to the Top winners will help trail-blaze effective reforms and provide examples for states and local school districts throughout the country to follow as they too are hard at work on reforms that can transform our schools for decades to come.
The deadline for the first round of the Race is Jan. 19, and Governor Paterson urged lawmakers to take any and all action necessary to ensure success in a process that would reap up to $700 million in funds for education.
“In order for New York to compete for maximum Race to the Top funds, I introduced the Governor’s Program Bill #214 to address minor provisions of New York law which, if not amended, would negatively impact our application,” said the governor.
According to Paterson, enactment of this proposed legislation would ensure that New York State is competitive for the funding. He stressed that this is not a race about being eligible for funds, but scoring high enough to receive the top federal school aid amounts in round one.
“My proposed bill should be passed this week so the application can be finalized, reviewed and submitted by the Jan. 19 application deadline,” stated Paterson.
The Program Bill seeks to amend current legislation to change the sunset date from July 1, 2010 to Jan. 15, 2010 for tenure determinations (up to 28 points-6 percent of the total points in the application), eliminate the Charter School Cap and allow the Dormitory Authority to finance charter school capital funding for approved charter schools (up to 16 points-3 percent of the total number of points in the application), and allow the Regents to appoint a temporary receiver to address chronically under-performing schools (10 points-2 percent of the total number of points in the application).
“The combined score for these initiatives would make New York competitive, so it can receive top funding in round one of the Race to the Top competition,” stated Governor Paterson. “We have been offered a rare opportunity to receive significant federal funding for our schools and our children when we need it most. These changes to state law significantly improve New York’s chances for enhanced aid to education when we need it most.”