A week after Rhode Island legislators stripped funding for a new, innovative “mayoral academy” charter school and days after Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned that the Ocean State would have some ‘splainin to do when it applied for federal Race To The Top funds because of it, the Legislature voted very early this morning to put the cash back in.
Huge win for Cumberland Mayor Dan McKee, who has been a warrior pushing this issue for the last few years. Another win for Duncan, who has shown again that he’s serious about the Race To The Top.
Special kudos to House Majority Leader Gordon Fox for his leadership on this issue. (There are lots of great quotes from him in the Pro Jo story linked above. Thanks also to Representatives Kenneth Vaudreuil (D – Central Falls) and Nick Mattiello (D – Cranston) spoke forcefully on the floor about the need for a Race to the Top strategy with excellent charter schools at it’s center.