NASHVILLE – All seven major Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates have signed a letter promising to support Tennessee’s Race to the Top reform plan.
The state’s two U.S. senators and nine congressmen also have penned a letter of their own supporting the state’s application for $501.2 million in federal grants to pursue innovative education reforms.
Forty states are vying for the $4 billion in grants, which are being competitively awarded.
The four Republican and three Democratic gubernatorial candidates’ joint letter was included in Tennessee’s application in the Race to the Top competition.
“We’re uniting to express our support for the Volunteer State in the Race to the Top competition for education innovation,” the candidates said in the letter.