N.J. schools could receive up to $400M if selected from 19 finalists for Obama administration program designed to spur reforms
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie signs a bill at the Statehouse in Trenton in this August 2010 file photo.TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said he hasn't gotten "a wink and a nod, or a shake of the head" on the state's chances of winning competitive federal education money expected to be announced Tuesday.
New Jersey could receive up to $400 million if it is selected from 19 finalists for the Race to the Top program, a competitive Obama administration grant program designed to spur reforms. New Jersey was not a finalist in the first round.
"I'm anxious to see what's going to happen tomorrow," Christie said. "Remember, it's not just about the money, because if we're able to get that money tomorrow, if we're one of the winners, we have to also do the reforms that we've promised to do of our K-12 education system. So the prospect of both of those excite me."
But Christie said he hadn't gotten a tip-off in advance of the announcement.
"I don't have any inside information," he said. "I haven't gotten a wink and a nod, or a shake of the head, either way from Washington. So we'll wait till tomorrow at noon to find out whether we're one of the winners. I think New Jersey deserves to be one, but we'll see how it goes."
New Jersey is also in line to receive $268 million for education from a stimulus bill President Obama signed earlier this month. The funding could will go to school districts to help pay salaries and benefits of the staff, from principals to teachers to janitors and cafeteria workers.
Christie said he doesn't think the money will be a "measurable help" to New Jersey's economy.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler last week said the state was leaning toward using its own school-funding formula when applying for the money, rather than the other option, using a federal funding formula to distribute the cash.
Christie noted the state had time to get in the application before the Sept. 9 deadline.
“We’re still not completely clear on exactly how all this is going to work,” he said. “I don’t think the federal department of education is still completely clear on how it’s going to work."
"But my concern is I want to make sure that the money is used to make sure we deal with the problems that we have here in New Jersey ... and not just frivolously spent. So we’re going to watch over that very carefully, too,” Christie said.
Once the state distributes the money to districts, it does not have power over how the districts spend that money, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Earlier this year, New Jersey lost in its first bid for Race to the Top because its proposal lacked "clarity and coherence" and many of its strategies for achieving goals were "unclear," according to federal reviewers at the U.S. Department of Education. The New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teacher's union, also declined to support the proposal, which cost the state points.
Only Delaware, which received $100 million, and Tennessee, which got $500 million, won Race to the Top grants in the first phase.
Schundler traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this month to make the state's pitch in person. Christie publicly scolded Schundler for compromising with the state's largest teachers' unions about the types of reforms the state would commit to in its application. The application was changed to leave out the compromises.
Staff writer Jeanette Rundquist contributed to this report.
Previous coverage:
• N.J. is among 19 finalists for federal Race to the Top education funding
• Gov. Christie says N.J. education chief made mistake with Race to the Top compromise
• Key points agreed on by NJEA are changed in new 'Race to the Top' application
• N.J. teachers union joins Christie administration in 'Race to the Top' application
• N.J. education chief gets mixed reviews for reform plans, 'Race to the Top' grant
• N.J. school districts are given extra time to sign up for 'Race to the Top' grant