California Denied "Race to the Top" Funding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCBS)_ California didn't make the final cut to receive its share of $4.35 billion in federal education funding. The U.S. Department of Education announced the 10 recipients in the second round of the "Race to the Top" school reform grants and California was not among them.

State Superintendent Public Instruction Jack O'Connell says he is very disappointed no funds will be coming to California, but he says his focus remains the same.

"This loss of funding will not stop our reform efforts to improve education. It will slow it, but we have to remain focused on closing the achievement gap and really raising the academic feeling for all of our students," says O'Connell.

California had a chance to win as much as $700 million dollars from the historic program, which is aimed at rewarding ambitious reforms to improve schools and close the achievement gap.

The winners were the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island.