Courtney says state unlikely to get federal school money
Congressman contends funding application process haphazard
By Ted Mann Day Staff Writer
Article published Feb 18, 2010
Despite a frantic last-minute drive to Washington last month to submit Connecticut's application for $192.7 million in federal education funding, the state is unlikely to get a dime of the new money this spring, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said Wednesday.
In a meeting with The Day's editorial board, Courtney said he doubted Connecticut would be among the recipients of $1.35 billion in funding from the Obama administration's Race to the Top program, in part because the state's application to the competitive grant program was "kind of cobbled together pretty last-minute" by state officials.
The last-minute completion of the state application was among numerous complaints Courtney said he's heard in conversations with local school superintendents, who also felt they had been insufficiently consulted in the development of Connecticut's plan for the money. ...
"I've met with a lot of superintendents over the last month or two who want to be supportive of the state and help the state get what it's capable of, but there was a feeling that was expressed that they really were not a partner in the application," Courtney said.
The congressman's comments irritated officials in Gov. M. Jodi Rell's administration, who rejected the characterization of the state's plan as rushed but conceded one detail that had contributed to that impression: The state's application paperwork was driven down to Washington by an aide from the state Department of Education, just in time to meet the application deadline.
"Every state was scrambling to meet the deadline," said Tom Murphy, a spokesman for the state education department, in an e-mail message.
"A young staffer and her fiancé drove it down (but they also wanted to go to D.C. for the weekend)," Murphy said. "That gave us an extra two days, which we used. People worked nights and weekends to make this happen. It was a great day for the Department."
Rell's staff also pointed to a letter signed by all seven members of the state's congressional delegation, including Courtney, in support of the application. The letter praised state officials for working in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and others to develop Connecticut's plan for the funds.
And Connecticut was one of 25 states that received up to $250,000 in grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to assist in preparing their applications, Murphy noted. ...
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