An August 27 Gazette article describes the decision of Montgomery and Frederick Counties to decline Race to the Top funds by refusing to sign onto the State’s Race to the Top application.

The two counties, which share a geographical border, also share the distinction of being left out of the quarter-million-dollar pot coming Maryland’s way. That’s because Montgomery and Frederick declined to sign on to the Race to the Top application. …

“There was concern about a lack of detail regarding how Race to the Top would be implemented, what some of the expectations would be and also the concern about funding adequacy,” said Marita Loose, a spokeswoman for Frederick County Public Schools.

In a written statement Thursday, Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig said the school system’s lack of support for Race to the Top centered on how teacher evaluations might differ from what the county uses and the nature of the tests that would be administered to students.

“We are not willing to undo that simply to chase money that will amount to less than 0.3 percent of our budget, much of which cannot be used for direct instructional costs,” Tofig wrote.

August 25 Conduit Street post on Race to the Top