NASHVILLE – The Bredesen administration has gone back to the blackboard and recalculated the dollars Tennessee is seeking in the federal Race to the Top competition.
It turns out the state’s application is seeking not $485 million, as officials estimated last week, but $501.8 million in federal funds intended to serve as a catalyst for what Gov. Phil Bredesen believes will be education innovation.
Half the money would be shared with local school systems and would have to be spent in areas such as professional development.
Education Department officials attributed the nearly $17 million increase to additional resources being sought for what it calls “turnaround” schools _ educational jargon for schools the state would take over because they are failing to educate children adequately.
The state submitted its application Tuesday, meaning a federal deadline for Phase I of the competition which encourages states to engage in meaningful reform. Lawmakers last week changed state tenure law to help make Tennessee more competitive.