“Race To The Top” Not a Race HEA Chose To Participate In

In the last few days, you may have seen a number of articles in the Oregonian about Race to the Top and how our OEA leadership gave it’s blessing to the Oregon grant. Race to the Top (RTTT) is a federal “competition” where states apply for grants that focus on student achievement, turning around low achieving schools, recruiting and retaining effective teachers and principals and improving instruction via data systems. While there were some items taken out of context, OEA President Gail Rasmussen did sign approval of the Oregon grant on behalf of OEA members. She felt that her and other member’s participation in the process was able to keep the most unsavory aspects of the fed’s wishes out of the grant, namely tying student test scores to individual teachers.

While OEA did sign off, your HEA Executive Board decided not to put their signature on it. (Each local was asked to sign along with the local superintendent and school board chair.) At the time locals were asked to sign off, we did not even have access yet to the grant so felt that we were asked to basically sign a “blank check”. Also, by reading the federal application guidelines, we saw so many red flags that there was no way we felt we could sign off on it. Equally troubling is that according to the guidelines, once we sign, we as a union are technically out of the picture. Any modifications to the District’s grant to the state (if the state were awarded the money) would involve the state and the District.

Below are just a few of the issues that caused many leaders not to sign off on this plan:

funding for important education goals made in to a competition

loss of local control and potential of unintended costs if District is accepted

the importance by the feds of tying student test scores to individual teachers

loss of dollars in reallocating additional dollars to charter schools

unanticipated work load of members

evaluation system would have to be changed

the grant is one time and does not offer sustainable, adequate funding

the diversion of state and local funds to align with RTTT goals

district plans could be altered without input by local associations

As Congress will more than likely be reauthorizing ESEA this year, it is important that public education advocates stand up to their principles and not allow dangling carrots be a way for bad policy to creep in to law. Arne Duncan has an agenda; let it not be ours!

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