Montgomery, AL – Scoring sheets from the federal Race to the Top program show that Alabama wouldn't have qualified for millions in federal education funds even if Gov. Bob Riley had persuaded the Legislature to legalize charter schools.
Had Riley's charter school bill passed last spring, Alabama's application still would have finished out of the money because of a lack of support from the state teachers' organization, the Alabama Education Association, and from some school systems.
The governor says no state can win the funding without union support and charter schools. But AEA Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert says his group shouldn't be blamed because it wasn't consulted about Alabama's application.
Three of Alabama's neighbors, Georgia, Florida and Tennesse, have won Race to the Top funding.
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