Feds Scold Hawaii, $75M Education Grant At Stake
WASHINGTON 鈥斅燭he federal government slapped Hawaii with an unusual and stern warning that it stands to lose $75 million in Race to the Top education grant money due to the state’s “unsatisfactory performance.”
The U.S. Department of Education is putting Hawaii’s grant on “high-risk status,” as a result, according to a that DOE Policy Director Ann Whalen sent to Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Hawaii is the first Race to the Top recipient to be given a “high-risk” designation.
Race to the Top is the Obama administration’s signature education reform initiative, and the DOE’s letter to Hawaii suggests that the administration is aggressively monitoring states’ use of funds. The federal scolding also indicates that the DOE could be making an example of Hawaii as a way to show other states that grant recipients will be held accountable.
Whalen wrote that Hawaii has “not demonstrated adequate progress” in implementing the programs that the DOE approved in its Race to the Top award to the state. Hawaii is one of 11 states, along with the District of Columbia, that have shared a portion of more than $4 billion in Race to the Top grant money. Hawaii was awarded $75 million to implement its proposed education reforms between 2011 and 2014.
But Whalen wrote that the department is “concerned about the State鈥檚 ability to fulfill its commitments within the grant period.”
The high-risk designation means that the state will have to get express approval from the DOE for any of the Race to the Top grant money it wants to spend. This so-called “reimbursement payment basis” means that Hawaii will spend its own money, then ask feds for reimbursement via Race to the Top.
Hawaii is also now subject to an on-site visit from the DOE in which the state will have to “provide clear and compelling evidence that demonstrates that it has made substantial progress across its Race to the Top plan.”
In March, Hawaii got federal permission to push back its timeline to implement Race to the Top programs amid various delays. The DOE said that the state’s request to further push back deadlines “may constitute a significant change” in the scope and breadth of Hawaii’s approved plans.
One major stumbling block that remains for Hawaii: The ongoing collective bargaining battle in the state, which has further delayed implementation of Race to the Top reform in Hawaii.
Read the complete letter that the DOE sent to Abercrombie:
