Kudos to whoever in Delaware got this and all the hard work I’m sure that went into securing it. I’m sure having the VP from your state helped a bit of course.

MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Education named 16 finalists Thursday in the first round of its “Race to the Top” competition, which will deliver $4.35 billion in school reform grants.

Selected from a pool of 41 applicants are: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. The winners will be chosen in April, and a second round of applications accepted in June.

“These states are an example for the country of what is possible when adults come together to do the right thing for children,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

But, what was more interesting from the article was how Delaware is being screwed out of additional monies from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

All the winners except Delaware and South Carolina got financial help from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in preparing their “Race to the Top” application. The foundation gave many states grants of up to $250,000 each to pay for a consultant to help them craft their application.

I don’t know the reason we didn’t get it. I cannot imagine our Education System not wanting $250k to waste on bureaucracy at its highest levels.