Georgia, S. Carolina in running for school funds

Georgia and South Carolina were among 19 finalists named Tuesday for federal Race to the Top money -- some of which could come to Richmond and Aiken county schools.

The $4 billion grant opportunity is an Obama administration effort that has already awarded $100 million to Delaware and $500 million to Tennessee. It has $3.4 billion remaining to award in the second round, with winners being named in late August or early September.

Should their states receive funding, Richmond and Aiken counties could get money because they applied along with their states in a first round and were automatically included in the second phase.

Richmond County Interim Superintendent James Whitson said the school board and a new superintendent would need to decide whether they want to go along with any conditions attached to the money, if the county receives any.

"I think we would just have to look at all aspects of it again," he said, adding that the state has since tweaked its application.

Whitson said the school board would also have to consider when such funding would have to be used. He said there could be challenges to initiating reform measures tied to the money this school year.

He said initial state plans for reform were similar to those involving more than $3 million in grants the system recently received to make changes at Josey, Glenn Hills and Laney high schools. That plan has been met with some public skepticism. It calls for replacement of half of the staff at Laney.

Whitson said it's not known how much funding Richmond County could get or exactly what the money would be used for.

Georgia likes its chances.

"As a third-place finisher in Phase One, I believe Georgia is in an incredibly strong position to win this phase of the competition," Gov. Sonny Perdue said in a statement.

South Carolina officials also feel confident, having finished sixth in the early phase. Finalist states will have representatives present their plans to a panel of reviewers in Washington the week of Aug. 9. Georgia could receive as much as $400 million, half of which would be divided among 26 school districts that joined with the state, including Richmond County. Columbia County didn't apply.

According to the governor's office, the money would be used to help schools adopt common standards and assessments to prepare students for college and the work force; build data systems measuring student growth and success; recruit, prepare, reward and retain effective teachers and principals; and turn around lowest-achieving schools.

South Carolina's $175 million proposal includes creating a statewide teacher evaluation system and a pilot project to link teacher effectiveness to their college alma mater, according to the state Education Department. The biggest change students would see is a "tighter focus on the impact of individual educators on their students' achievement," said Betsy Carpentier, the state deputy education superintendent and overseer of its 1,700-page application.

Aiken County school officials say they hope that any money put toward tracking student growth improves on current No Child Left Behind standards.

Dr. Kevin O'Gorman, Aiken County's associate superintendent for instruction, said any system the state sets up should be user-friendly for teachers so they're encouraged to work with data to improve instruction.