More doubts.

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http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_educ...t-thursday.html

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Race to the Top: Orange school board to discuss grant Thursday

The Orange County school district already told the state it intends to try for a share of the federal Race to the Top grant. But it has until Jan. 12 to send in the official paperwork.

Thursday, the board will get a briefing on (and perhaps discuss) the controversial grant program, which aims to spur education reform but requires states and districts to make big changes, most notably in how they evaluate and pay teachers.

The board is to meet at 4 p.m. at the school district’s headquarters.

If Florida wins a Race to the Top grant, Orange schools could land up to $22 million — if they agree to all the requirements and work out the pay issues with their local teachers union.

Florida’s planned grant application (it is to be sent to the feds Jan. 19) says that districts will overhaul teacher pay plans, tying raises and promotions to student achievement (as measured by state tests), not just years in the classroom. It also requires districts to take new steps to fix their most struggling schools.

The state’s largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, last month urged local unions not to sign the grant paperwork. The union thinks the grant proposal is “fatally flawed” because it seeks to upend an entire system rather than target struggling schools, and it was devised in Tallahassee without adequate input from educators around the state.

Mike Cahill, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, said the union is following the guidance of the FEA but will listen to the board’s discussion Thursday before making a final decision.

Ideally, the state wants each district that wants Race to the Top money to send in a “memorandum of understanding” signed by its superintendent, school board chairman and local union president. It fears that without union support, Florida’s application will not be judged as highly by federal authorities, who will decide whether the state gets up to $700 million.

The grant program is part of the massive economic recovery package Congress approved last year. Unlike the “stimulus money’ sent last year — that aimed to mostly stave off layoffs and shore up existing budgets — the grant money is meant to spur reform and innovation.