School District Joins State Effort for Federal Grant Money

By Jonathan Friedman
Lookout Staff

January 8, 2010 --The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District could be eligible for a piece of some desperately needed federal money.

Facing a $12 million deficit next year, the Board of Education on Monday approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sacramento to join its effort to seek grant money from President Obama’s “Race to the Top” program.

After lengthy debate, both houses of the California Legislature this week approved two bills that will allow the State to seek the funding. Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the bills today.

California could receive as much as $700 million from the federal program. It is yet to be determined how much of that would go to the district.

The bills were controversial in Sacramento because they involve new requirements for Districts receiving the money, including the mandatory annual review of teachers and principals as well as radical changes or possible closure of the State’s lowest performing schools.

Some of these issues were also raised at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.

Teachers union President Harry Keiley said he had concerns about changing faculty evaluation guidelines.

Sally Chou, SMMUSD’s chief academic officer, told board members that meeting the requirements, some of which the district already meets, would not cost more money than the District would receive from the program.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site, “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.”

The statement continues, “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.”