Nevada can join Race to the Top

[tonysam]

This is bad, bad, bad shit. Nevada teachers had better brace for mass firings and school closures, especially with people leaving the state in droves because of massive unemployment:

Gov. Jim Gibbons signed a bill Wednesday that makes Nevada eligible to apply for President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top federal education grant.

Nevada was the only state ineligible to compete for the grants because of a law that banned student tests scores from being used in teacher evaluations. Gibbons had threatened to veto the bill because of concerns it didn't go far enough to remove the prohibition and ensure the state's application would be competitive.

Teachers have almost nonexistent rights in Nevada anyway, and now they will be on the level with casino workers and burger flippers.

More:

School board trustee Scott Kelley said the district and board are still discussing how to best use the grant.

“The signing of that bill is a very positive development,” he said. “There will be a lot of discussion on the best ways of using that money, whether it’s plugging holes or funding programs. And it’s a federal grant, so I’m sure we’ll have some rules or regulations, but every dollar really helps.”

After the recent special session of the Nevada Legislature, school districts in the state are facing 6.9 percent in cuts. Kelley said despite that, parent and community support has always remained high and will be crucial as the district makes its decisions on final cuts.

Scott Kelley is an idiot. There will be mass firings and probably school closures in Washoe County because of this blackmail scheme by Arne Duncan. Superintendent Heath Morrison is NO friend of teachers; he's Eli Broad Academy, which is a privatization outfit financed by a billionaire real estate developer. Morrison's right hand man, Pedro Martinez, is also Eli Broad and is a crony of Duncan's back in Chicago.

The teachers better be braced for more capricious firings (as what I went through and found I had little legal recourse for damages) and especially if they are over 50.

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[Starry Messenger]

1. I didn't see this earlier, rec for visibility

I think CA is in the process of doing the same thing.