Seven State School Systems to Get Share of $200 Million Jackpot - East Idaho News
National

Seven State School Systems to Get Share of $200 Million Jackpot

  Published at

GETTY N 031511 Classroom?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1324633999823Creatas Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Christmas will arrive two days early for school systems in seven states.

The Education Department announced Friday it will divide a $200 million jackpot among the following states in the latest round of the “Race to the Top” competition:

— Arizona, $25 million
— Colorado, $18 million
— Illinois, $43 million
— Kentucky, $17 million
— Louisiana, $17 million
— New Jersey, $37 million
— Pennsylvania, $41 million

The states were all finalists in last year’s competition and won for making commitments to invest in college and career prep, particularly in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.  California could have won too but the state’s application was incomplete.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan also threatened that one of last year’s winners, Hawaii, could lose more than $70 million of its grant for failing to keep its promises.

Last Friday, the Obama administration doled out $500 million in Race to the Top grants for pre-K programs in California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION