My colleague Michele McNeil has a thorough post in her blog, Politics K-12, on what the federal government will be asking from districts applying for the federal Race to the Top funds set aside specifically for district-level school systems.
I found these particular changes from the draft rules interesting: Districts won’t have to come up with performance plans for school board members, and the largest grants can now be $40 million, up from the $25 million originally proposed. Also, small school districts can be eligible to apply if they have at least 2,000 students, as opposed to 2,500.
This grant competition is on a fast track; districts have until Oct. 30 to get their applications in. By August 30, we should have an idea of what districts may be moving forward in the process.