Funding? Hardly! - It's a mere pittance! The potential windfall for Seminole is estimated to be $1.3 million in each of four years (about one fourth of one percent of Seminole's operating budget), after which time the funding goes away.

The cost to the district would be the further erosion of local control and the obliteration of teacher rights.

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12...l-funds/1063686

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Teacher doubts threaten funding

By Ron Matus, Times Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Strong opposition from teachers unions could be enough to kill Florida's chances of securing up to $700 million in federal school reform money, the state's top education official said Wednesday.

Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told the St. Petersburg Times editorial board that minimal union support could sink the state's application for Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion program at the heart of President Barack Obama's education agenda.

Federal approval hinges in part on support from school districts and teachers unions. But Andy Ford, president of the state teachers union, has encouraged local union presidents not to sign off on the state's application. And so far, many local leaders, including those around Tampa Bay, appear to be balking. ...

The state's plans for the money, crafted over months by the Florida Department of Education, are dramatic. They would accelerate changes on a suite of sensitive issues, including how teachers are trained, evaluated and paid. ...

Some school board members and union leaders are worried, though, that the state is asking for too much, too fast, and with too little money. Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties stand to collectively net up to $50 million over four years, assuming all 67 districts in the state participate.

They also say the state is leaving little room to craft programs that fit local needs.

"Other states aren't being so prescriptive," said Marshall Ogletree, executive director of the Pinellas teachers union.

"Our concern is that not through legislation, but through a memorandum of understanding, we're trying to change state law."