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WASHINGTON — Hawaii lacks a “sense of urgency” about meeting the commitments it made to secure $75 million in federal education funding, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday.

“If a state is making progress, I think were we’re willing to be a little bit flexible,” Duncan said. “We just haven’t seen anywhere near the type of progress we need from Hawaii.”

Duncan’s comments came on the heels of the Department of Education’s revelation that Hawaii has been placed on “high-risk” status for “unsatisfactory” delays in implementing Race to the Top programs. He spoke to reporters as he was announcing the next wave of recipients.

The delays can be traced back to the standoff between the state and the teachers union over a new contract. The state imposed a contract on July 1, but the union is protesting the action before the labor relations board. Until the dispute is resolved, the state is unable to make good on commitments it made to the federal government to secure Race to the Top funds, including performance pay and updated teacher evaluations.

Race to the Top is the Obama administration’s signature education-reform initiative, and Hawaii secured $75 million to implement its proposed education reforms between 2011 and 2014.

“They committed to specific reforms in their first 14 (to)18 months,” said Ann Whalen, deputy secretary and policy director of the Department of Education. “They have not met the vast majority of their own milestones and their own commitments.”

Duncan said he spoke with Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Thursday, and that the U.S. Department of Education “very much” wants Hawaii to turn things around. But he also made it clear that the state is “in danger of losing their resources.”

Abercrombie said in a statement emailed to Civil Beat that he is “willing to do everything” necessary to enable Hawaii to keep the $75 million. A central component of moving forward will be finding a way to resolve a drawn-out dispute with Hawaii teachers.

“I am going to ask the Labor Relations Board to expedite its process to bring its discussions to a timely conclusion,” Abercrombie said. “I will make a request to the Legislature for any necessary support; and I will ask the Superintendent, the Board of Education and those working on Race to the Top to address the changes that the U.S. DOE has noted.”

Chairman Jim Nicholson told Civil Beat Thursday he has not received a request from the governor to expedite the union’s complaint. He said there isn’t much the board could do even if a request comes through.

The president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association did not respond to Civil Beat’s request for comment Thursday. Rep. Mazie Hirono, who serves on the House Education Committee, said that she has also spoken with Duncan.

“It’s concerning to hear that Hawaii’s Race to the Top grant might be at risk,” Hirono said in an email sent to Civil Beat. “It is unfortunate that the state didn’t hit the ground running to implement the grant… There’s a lot at stake here – namely, our children’s futures.”

Duncan said that while implementation has been “by no means perfect in any state,” Hawaii’s performance has been so bad that the federal agency felt compelled to make Hawaii the only state to receive a high-risk designation. The status means that Hawaii will have to change the way that it spends Race to the Top money, and faces an on-site visit from federal officials.

“It hasn’t been a great year, frankly, for Hawaii,” Duncan said. “So we’re going to look for some pretty significant improvements… If we don’t see things turning around, we have some tough decisions to make.”

In January, the department plans to issue scorecards outlining each state’s performance thus far, Duncan said. His characterization of the nationwide Race to the Top implementation made Hawaii’s situation all the more stark.

Duncan said he is “extraordinarily pleased” with states’ overall performance.

“Over the past two years we’ve seen more progress and more education reform than the past two decades,” he said.

Duncan also said that the high level of interest in a finite amount of Race to the Top funding means that states that don’t feel “comfortable” meeting their obligations have “absolutely no need to apply.”

“If things don’t change, Hawaii is going to end up in a tough spot,” Duncan said. “I think it’s our obligation to be very clear on that.”

Nanea Kalani contributed to this article.