CECM was happy to see the St. Louis Beacon review the comments on Missouri’s $743.5 million Race to the Top application and note some of the very telling quotes from the reviewers on why Missouri placed 33rd out of 41 applicants.

Quotes on Missouri application related to charter limitations.

Quotes on Missouri application related to overall conditions for education reform.

CECM has worked to see that Missouri becomes seriously competitive for this competition by passing reforms during the current legislative session.  CECM was contacted by the Beacon and this is what we had to say.

Earl Simms, state director of the Children’s Education Council of Missouri, has also been pushing for changes in the state’s charter school law. He said he had copied some of the passages from the reviewers’ comments on the state’s Race to the Top application to show to members of the Legislature.

He said he realizes that the House and Senate are concentrating on money matters as the session draws to a close, but he also says they should pay more attention to a source of funds that would be coming from Washington.

“I think with the focus on money and the budget,” Simms said, “it would be very helpful for legislators to look at this pool of molney that is out there and implement some of the reforms.”

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