Teets says county has no choice but to comply

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — In the nationwide Race to the Top, the Garrett County Board of Education pulled a 180-degree turn fast enough to cause whiplash.

Less than one month after its decision not to participate in the federal Race to the Top initiative, the school board voted 4-1 in favor of signing on to the program.

Superintendent Wendell Teets reintroduced the issue Tuesday, saying that Maryland state education standards are being moved in line with federal requirements, and Garrett County will have no choice but to comply.

“If we don’t sign on, we won’t get funding from the RTTT grant, yet we will still have to comply with its requirements in accordance with state law,” he said.

Teets also said he believes that federal Race to the Top criteria will become the guideline for other program funding, such as Title I.

“We need to think of the impact in jobs and services if we fail to approve RTTT and are not funded via the grant if Maryland wins, or if we lose federal funds for not adopting the criteria regardless of RTTT,” Teets told the board before its April vote.

The board’s change of heart was preceded by a visit Friday by state Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick, who spoke with the board about the program.

Vice president Thomas Carr, who ultimately moved to reconsider the board’s decision, said he felt partly reassured by the meeting with Grasmick. But Carr still spoke of reluctance to sign on to the program.

“I still am bothered by the concept that we have to compete for funds,” Carr said. “It’s a little bit like telling my two children that they have to compete for dinner and one of them goes to bed hungry.”

Board member James Raley, the lone vote against signing on, objected to what he called “big government” intruding on local autonomy.

“I’m not sure, when this is all said and done, that it isn’t going to cost us more than we’re ever going to receive,” he said.

Race to the Top challenges school districts to change the way they evaluate student and educator performance in order to compete for federal grants.

The initiative requires states to submit proposals for revamping their assessment systems for students. Teachers and union representatives have objected to the program partly because it proposes a merit pay system, under which educators could be financially rewarded — or effectively, punished — based on their students’ assessment results.

Statewide, Maryland could receive $250 million from the program if it wins in the second round of funding awards, to be decided at the end of September. Half of that money would be divided among the school districts that sign on to the program, and the funds would be dispersed over a four-year period.

In the first phase, just two states, Delaware and Tennessee, were awarded Race to the Top money. Delaware received approximately $100 million and Tennessee $500 million. Maryland did not submit an application in the first round.

As of Tuesday, nearly all Maryland counties had signed on to the program, with only Frederick County taking a firm stand against it.

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