Nevada loses bid for Race to the Top money

Federal officials announced Tuesday that Nevada will not be eligible for the $175 million in federal education money under the Race to the Top program.

Gov. Jim Gibbons said, however, that won't stop his blue ribbon education reform commission from moving ahead with plans to reform the state's public school system.

Nevada didn't file an application in the first round of the Race to the Top competition, which drew criticism from some quarters. The problem was that to qualify for the money Nevada had to first repeal the law that barred school districts from linking student achievement to teacher evaluations.

That law was changed during the special session earlier this year and the state filed its application for funding by the June 1 deadline.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., blamed the Gibbons administration, accusing governor of a "severe lack of leadership in education."

"While the governors from other states were aggressively working to pass new reform laws and position their states to take advantage of these important funds, our governor was satisfied with only meeting the minimum requirement to file our application," said Reid.

But he commended the blue ribbon commission for "doing so much with so little to put together the state's proposal."

"It's unfortunate that their effort has to fall victim to the governor's lack of leadership."

Gibbons, in return, blamed Reid for not using his influence to get Nevada the grant money.

"Reid has never lifted a finger to help us while we applied for these special federal funds for education," he said. "Harry Reid was asleep at the switch again when the teachers, parents, children and families of Nevada needed his help."

Gibbons said his Education Reform Blue Ribbon Task Force will continue its work despite the U.S. Department of Education decision, meeting in September to work on education reform.

"The time is now to modernize the way we deliver education in our schools, both to secure the future of our children and grandchildren and to develop an educated and skilled workforce necessary to diversify our economy and generate economic recovery and prosperity," Gibbons said. "Education is the intellectual infrastructure for Nevada's future."

Race to the Top was designed to encourage and reward states for innovative programs that result in better student performance.