Obama Outlines $4 Billion School Fund Competition For States

July 24, 2009 11:18 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President Barack Obama on Friday announces what states need to do to qualify for $4 billion in stimulus funds devoted to improve the nation's schools. The administration is touting the funds as the biggest federal investment in education reform, which Obama has said needs to include merit pay for teachers.

Obama delivers an address at the Education Department in the afternoon that will outline how grants under the "Race to the Top" funds will be awarded. He is hoping the competition will spur states to adopt aggressive reforms such as ending "off the shelf" tests in determining student improvement and implementing rigorous accountability in charter schools.

The President has repeatedly said that education reform is crucial to the nation's economic recovery. He also wants the nation to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

His $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has $100 billion set aside for education. Part of that money is for a national competition, "Race to the Top," that will award $4.35 billion to states that show a record of undertaking reforms and a plan for further improvements in cultivating good teachers, turning around under-performing schools and establishing effective data systems for students.

The grants will be awarded in two phases. The Education Department will begin receiving applications for the first phase in October, and release grants March next year. The next phase begins in June 2010 and ends September the same year, when the last grants are awarded.

Obama first outlined his education policy in March, when he called on states to toughen education standards, proposed expanding the school calendar with lengthier after-school and day programs, and criticized his own party for opposing merit pay for teachers.

Last week, he proposed $12 billion in new investments for the nation's community colleges, $9 billion of which will be for grants and $500 million for online higher education programs.

The President's Council of Economic Advisers also just released a report, "Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow," that highlights the need for an efficient education and training system that provides Americans with skills needed to succeed in the jobs of the future.