Rep. Garrison Applauds Ohio’s Selection for Race to the Top Funds

Federal Funds for Education Will Help Local Districts

COLUMBUS- State Representative Jennifer Garrison (D-Marietta) today congratulated Governor Strickland and the Ohio Department of Education for their hard work in securing federal education funding from the Race to the Top Fund.  Ohio was selected as a grant recipient under the federal program and will receive $400 million dollars in grant money over the next four years.

“The receipt of this grant is a testament to Ohio’s recent education reforms,” Rep. Garrison said. “The comprehensive education reforms we passed last year took a giant step toward creating a world-class education system in Ohio. We could not afford to ignore this opportunity and I am pleased to see that our hard work has paid off for Ohio’s students.” 

Last year, Rep. Garrison sponsored legislation to establish a longitudinal data system to monitor student progress at every level of education.  This system created under House Bill 370 provides educators and policymakers with the information necessary to improve student achievement by analyzing their progress over time. Implementing this data system allowed Ohio to meet 10 out of the 10 data system requirements needed to receive Race to the Top funds.   This bill was essential to securing Ohio’s highly competitive position to access a share of the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” fund.  The data system established in Rep. Garrison’s bill was added into House Bill 290 in order for the program to be put in place before the grant application deadline last January.

Several local school districts in Rep. Garrison’s 93rd House District signed the necessary Memorandum of Understanding and will receive Race to the Top funding.  The districts, and the dollar amounts they are eligible receive are:

Cambridge City                       $580,279

East Muskingum Local              $165,823

Franklin Local                         $336,627

Frontier Local                         $179,005

Marietta City                          $436,182

Noble Local                            $166,904

Rolling Hills Local                     $393,962

Warrant Local                        $103,639

Wolf Creek Local                    $100,000


Districts that did not choose to participate in the Race to the Top competition will still receive benefits from Ohio’s selection as a grant recipient.  Statewide initiatives include teacher training, a teacher residency program and curriculum development.

Race to the Top is a highly competitive grant program designed to reward states that are leading the way in comprehensive education reform.  The money will help local school districts and public charter schools improve: (1) college – and career – ready academic standards, (2) data systems for tracking progress and improving instruction, (3) teacher and principal effectiveness, and (4) performance among the lowest-performing schools.