CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Local school officials are waiting anxiously to hear more about federal Race to the Top funds announced last week.
Tennessee learned last week it will get $500 million from the competitive funding as a first round winner. The money is for education reform.
“This is new territory for all of us and there are still many unanswered questions,” according to an e-mail Monday from Tennessee Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Robert Greene to local school systems.
Estimates for Race to the Top fundingMcMinn County $1.07 millionAthens City $576,550Etowah City $141,505Meigs County $533,604Polk County $439,140Rhea County $847,074Dayton City $236,560Source: Tennessee Department of Education
“There’s a lot of anxiety to find out what we can do and how we can do it,” Dr. Rick Denning, Cleveland City Schools director, told the city school board Monday.
What is known, he said, is the money cannot be used for facilities, buses or raises. Among the unknowns is whether the money can be used for technology, he said.
State Rep. Kevin Brooks shared with Bradley County commissioners on Monday what the local breakdown will be from the $250 million that goes directly to school systems over a four-year period.
For now, the funds are only an estimate.
Bradley County Schools could get more than $1.4 million. Cleveland City Schools could get over $1.3 million.
The amount each school district receives is tied to federal Title I funding.
The state e-mail shared Monday with city board members by Dr. Denning, stated a team from the U.S. Department of Education will be in Nashville April 14 and 15 to provide some guidance.
The state also is telling school districts that if they create a program that includes recurring costs, “you must include a signed statement from your funding body that they are aware that these recurring costs will become the responsibility of the local agency at the end of the four-year grant window.”