State to seek grant

South Carolina plans to take another shot at securing a piece of $3.4 billion in federal funding for education.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex initially said he wasn't sure if the state would participate in the second round of the Race to the Top grant competition, but he announced Friday the state would apply.

"We know from our Round One scores, from the fact that we ranked so highly, that we're on the right track," Rex said.

South Carolina was among 16 finalists in a pool of 41 applicants in the first round of competition. The state's final scores ranked sixth, but only two states -- Delaware and Tennessee -- received funding in the first round.

When the state learned it hadn't won, Rex didn't immediately commit to reapplying because of two concerns. First, federal officials decided states would be limited in the amount of money they could request in the second round, a change that meant South Carolina would have to trim its $300 million proposal to $175 million.

Rex also wanted to determine if the state's modified proposal still could accomplish the goals of the grant program with a reduced budget.

Second, Rex said he wanted to see whether the state's severe budget cuts would hurt the agency and school districts' capacity to fulfill promises made in the grant application. He met with the team that developed the state's 1,200-page proposal as well as superintendents from across the state, and he said he thought the state could overcome both of those concerns and be competitive in the second phase.

"We can put together a proposal that can obtain what we want it to with $175 million," he said, adding that he also thought school districts could deliver what they promised.

Rex was reluctant Friday to discuss specifics about what would or would not be included in the state's application because some of those decisions have not been made and because he didn't want to put the state at a competitive disadvantage.

The state scored too high initially for it to scrap its original proposal, but the new proposal will focus more on areas such as improving low-performing schools. The state will solicit input from teachers, administrators, legislators and business leaders in the next several weeks.

States must submit their applications by June 1, and final award announcements will be made in September. States will be able to put the money toward improving teacher effectiveness, data systems, academic standards and low-performing schools.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.