From Sunday’s News Journal, in-depth reporting from education reporter Nichole Dobo on the 11-day drama in the Christina School District over whether the district would still receive its share of Delaware’s Race to the Top funds after the school board failed to follow the school reform plan to which it agreed.
Faced with the loss of $11 million in federal funding, Christina called a special board meeting Saturday where school board members did two things. First, they voted unanimously to rescind their April 19 decision. Second, they voted unanimously to “reaffirm” that the school board is committed to helping the state fix the district’s schools.
“This whole thing was due to a lack of communication,” board member Eric M. Anderson said after the vote.
At nearly midnight on April 19 — after listening to hours of testimony from teachers and administrators — five of the seven Christina school board members voted to undo what had been done. The 19 teachers would be allowed to remain at their school because of what board members called flaws in the interview process.
The vote set off a chain reaction. Days later, the state Department of Education began a process to freeze the millions earmarked for the district.
Then last Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in charge of President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top efforts, inserted himself into the local fight, strongly supporting the state in its efforts.