Kentucky Again Finalist For Federal Education Money

For a second time, Kentucky is a finalist for federal Race to the Top education reform dollars.Kentucky is one of 19 states and the District of Columbia named finalists for Race to the Top funding.The others are Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.All are vying for a share of $3 billion, with Kentucky standing to gain $175 million. Tennessee and Delaware, which won the first round, split $600 million.Possibly working against Kentucky in the second round is the lack of charter schools, which lawmakers failed to approve in the 2010 General Assembly, despite pleas from Education Commissioner Terry Holliday.