Loss of federal grant leads to finger-pointing
(From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 4, 2010)
By ERIN RICHARDS and AMY HETZNER
Wisconsin’s failure to make it past the first cut in the national competition for $4.35 billion to improve schools launched a volley of finger-pointing Thursday between the governor, legislators and interest groups.
Gov. Jim Doyle criticized the state Legislature for not acting on reform measures the governor wanted in the state’s application for the federal Race to the Top grant competition, namely allowing mayoral control of Milwaukee Public Schools and giving the state Department of Public Instruction enhanced powers to intervene in struggling schools.
He also criticized the MPS board for inaction on critical issues, including its inability to come up with its own reform agenda for drastically improving educational outcomes for children.
“Today’s announcement should be a wake-up call to many,” Doyle said Thursday. “U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made it clear: The federal government will provide significant resources to states that are serious about reform. Milwaukee needs clear, consistent, accountable leadership focused on reform.”
Wisconsin’s loss, paired with Doyle’s comments, reignited a war of words between Democratic legislative factions in Madison that have been paralyzed about how to address academic failures in the state’s largest school district. Supporters for mayoral control said they could still act in the regular session, but the idea has long lacked enough votes to pass.
Republicans also capitalized on the news to criticize Democrats in control of the Legislature and governor’s mansion for being too close to the state teachers union and unwilling to embrace education reform.
“I don’t believe that the mayoral takeover issue and the appointment of superintendent has anything to do with the Race to the Top application,” state Rep. Brett Davis (R-Oregon) said. “I think this is political cover for the governor.”
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia were selected as finalists for the federal Race to the Top grant program. Wisconsin and 24 other state applicants, meanwhile, were shut out of the first round of the program meant to challenge states to press for education reforms to turn around their public schools.
Finalists included a number of southern states, which have been more aggressive in instituting accountability measures for failing schools and student-tracking systems, and some other states that have made changes in recent months in response to the federal government’s call.
The finalists chosen by the U.S. Department of Education show that the federal government is serious about seeing major reforms in education, said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. He pointed out, in particular, the inclusion of Rhode Island, where a local school board made national headlines last week when it fired all the teachers at a failing school.
“This administration is looking for states that are willing to seriously challenge the status quo,” said Williams, a former education reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Wisconsin didn’t even come close.”
Wisconsin’s application
The state’s 664-page application, submitted in January, requested $254 million to address a variety of longtime problems in the K-12 system. Stated goals included reducing the achievement gap between minority and white students, improving the graduation rate and increasing the number of children going to college.
To accomplish those goals, the application indicated it would put resources toward improving early childhood education and development services, supporting children as they transition from eighth to ninth grade, and developing better teachers and principals.
About 50 peer reviewers from around the country scored each application based on components that totaled a possible 500 points.
Liam Goldrick, director of policy of the New Teacher Center and a former education adviser to Doyle, said Wisconsin’s application was likely hurt because of the state’s weak reform history and a persistently large gap in achievement between black and white students. The state also has not been as aggressive in trying to improve teacher quality as have other states, he said.
“If one can hope for a good outcome it would be this: that conversations or the plans that have come together as a result of this opportunity can continue to move forward in some way,” Goldrick said. “Hopefully, that’s a dynamic that will play out in Wisconsin, too.”
In a conference call with reporters, Duncan said the finalists submitted applications that scored above 400 points. Those finalists are invited to make their pitch in person to the federal government in mid-March.
Winners are to be announced in April, with no more than $2 billion to be awarded at that time, Duncan said. Each applicant, including Wisconsin and the other non-finalists, will then receive their score sheets and comments back from reviewers. Applications for a second round of grants are due in June, and Doyle said Thursday that the state would apply again.
Mayoral control not factor
Duncan declined to comment specifically on states’ applications because of the ongoing competition, but said in response to a question about Wisconsin that mayoral control was “not a factor” in the application process.
But for supporters of the governance change in Milwaukee, a different system of leadership in MPS is seen as a means to an end: establishing an agenda for reform in MPS and proving that the district – and state – can execute a much better plan to educate low-achieving students.
During a news conference in Milwaukee, Doyle, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers and Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines reiterated that Wisconsin is unlikely to receive Race to the Top funds if the state’s largest district remains so inert.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Thursday during an event at Marquette University that Wisconsin’s failed Race to the Top bid underscores the need for lawmakers to reconsider legislation giving the mayor control of MPS.
But Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) said the decision not to pass the proposal didn’t contribute to the state’s loss and that the proposal remained dead.
“We knew from the beginning that there would only be a handful of states selected for Race to the Top dollars,” she said. “The governor and the legislators who are pushing the takeover are trying to muddy this issue.”
Milwaukee School Board President Michael Bonds added that the finger-pointing was unfortunate, given that Wisconsin’s chances of receiving Race to the Top funds were slim to none from the start. Bonds said the state didn’t have some of the criteria the grant application required.
In defense of the board, Bonds said members have inherited old problems, and that the current board has brought millions of dollars back into the classrooms, strengthened academic requirements and introduced more accountability measures that have helped reading and math scores increase.
Despite that, Evers questioned Milwaukee’s readiness to embrace reform, especially because he received a legal notice Thursday that the district is requesting a hearing to challenge Evers’ federal authority to withhold funding for low-income students.
Funding withheld
Evers took the first step last month toward withholding up to $175 million in federal funding from MPS because the district has failed to implement elements of its state-issued corrective action plan, including targets that seek to improve the education of special-needs students.
The district has said it will not implement the corrections the state wants in that area because it is currently involved in litigation regarding how it educates special-needs students.
Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association President Mike Langyel said in a statement that educators stood ready to collaborate. He said he hoped the initiatives the union has proposed as part of its Milwaukee Opportunity Plan would be considered as part of the next application.
Journal Sentinel reporters Jason Stein and Patrick Marley, reporting from Madison, and Lee Bergquist in Milwaukee contributed to this report.