The Education Law Center noted in 2012 that there was a pattern to the distribution of Race to the Top grants:
The states and districts with the most unequal funding won a large share of RTTT grants.
ELC writes:
Since 2009, the US Department of Education’s (USDOE) Race to the Top (RTTT) initiative has given billions in federal funds to states conditioned on launching various education reforms. The USDOE has awarded these grant funds without regard to how equitably the states fund their schools. States control 90% of all school funding, and successful reform requires adequate resources, especially in districts serving high concentrations of low-income students and students with special needs.
In early December, USDOE announced another round of RTTT grant awards, this time to 16 local school districts or groups of school districts. The 16 award winners will share $400 million to support USDOE school reform priorities.
Once again, the RTTT grant process ignores the key precondition for sustaining any meaningful education reform — a fair and equitable state school finance system. The winning RTTT districts are in 12 states, all of which have serious deficiencies in the way they fund schools. Some of the districts are in states with the most inequitable school funding in the nation.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thus the most desperate districts to hang another noose around their neck in exchange for a gasp of air
Very interesting.
I had not considered how states were distributing things prior to RttT; it is good to know this bit of info and I now how something on which to look for more info.
Thank you.
have something, rather.
Isn’t it because of property taxes, though, that this happens? (the equitable funding issue). Do all states base funding for schools on property taxes?
More and more, to me, it seems the whole public education set of debates stems from real estate. Truly. And who you want your neighbor to be.
In Ohio school funding is based on property taxes on top of state per pupil base contribution. Our district went to earned income tax.
Check out the efforts of Bill Phillis, trying for 2 decades to get the legislature to address the inequity in Ohio.
The current “governor” is doing what he can to harm the poor districts. But some are on his side.
Duncan, his staff, and reviewers of the RttT applications don’t care. all they want is for applicants to bend, scrape, and say “Yes sir.” whatever you want we will do. “I’ll do anything for a piece of the largest discretionary budget in USDE history.
There’s a name for people like this….
Our local union voted “no” because they didn’t want an extension of NCLB. Some vote no on everything associated with Obama, also.
Our district superintendent stated in a newspaper with large distribution that we “just didn’t want the new evaluations”.
He told us that we should not turn down money we’d get. It was next to nothing. It was based on our scores on the OAA. We were a high performing district. So we got little financial assistance.
The coercion was insulting. The union reversed its vote. (Not me)
No one is happy. Everyone is exhausted. The principal is a hateful person. The teachers tried to voice their complaints to the superintendent. He sided with the principal. Teachers’ morale is in the pits. Again. All experienced teachers are gone. Retired or switched to different buildings.
I feel bad that there is not a word that I can say or do…to help.
It is a nightmare.
Reblogged this on Latino Education Task Force.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/common-core-louis-ck-chuck-norris-106218.html?hp=l2