Schools race teaches states a hard lesson

Ben Wolfgang:

Every race has losers, and the Obama administration’s Race to the Top education grant competition is proving to be no exception.
As nine states await their prize money after coming out on top late last week in the Education Department’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, the rest are left empty-handed, having spent thousands of hours carefully crafting plans that ultimately fell short.
“We invested a ton of time. That time equates to money,” said Bobby Cagle, commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning.
Mr. Cagle estimated that he and his staff spent more than 2,000 hours on the effort, and said his agency is greatly disappointed by the result.