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NW States Gearing Up to Go After "Race to the Top" Dollars OLYMPIA, WA (N3) - Washington Governor Chris Gregoire wants the Obama administration to rethink some of its requirements for "Race to the Top." This is the federal stimulus program to fund education reform at the state level. KPLU's Austin Jenkins explains.

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Race to the Top

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Gregoire thinks the US Department of Education's proposed rules for "Race to the Top" are too narrow. One requirement is that states have charter schools. Washington doesn't because voters have rejected them. Gregoire, a Democrat, recently wrote a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Gov. Chris Gregoire: "Be careful about requiring charter schools. They are not the be-all, the end-all. They don't answer all questions. They have not been overwhelmingly successful in many places. And some have tried other ways than charter schools that have brought about great results."

Gregoire points to: Tacoma's School of the Arts, the Tri-Cities' Science Technology Engineering and Math school, and Seattle's Aviation school. She doesn't expect Washington will win any Race to the Top grants on the first go-around. But she plans to try anyway. Oregon and Idaho say they'll also make a bid for the federal funds. I'm Austin Jenkins in Olympia. © Copyright 2012, N3