New York's chance of winning up to $700 million in education aid from the federal Race to the Top program appears to have hit a road block. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.
REPORTER: Race to the Top aims to reward states that commit to education reforms the Obama administration favors, like charter schools. New York's application called for more charters. And Governor Paterson introduced legislation to more than double the number of charters beyond the current limit of 200.
But Democratic leaders failed to bring a bill to the floor. The Senate's majority conference leader John Sampson said they wanted more parental input and oversight. Charter schools get taxpayer dollars but they're privately managed and some critics believe they aren't as inclusive as regular public schools. But supporters of charters blamed Democrats and the unions for killing the bill.
Mayor Bloomberg noted that Democrats failed to vote on a bill that could have brought the state additional aid on the same day Governor Paterson proposed cutting over a billion dollars from education. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.
HOST: New York was among 40 states and the District of Columbia that applied for Race to the Top funds. Those that aren't selected can apply for the second round of grants in June.
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