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The state of New York stands on the verge of foregoing and rejecting the government’s education efforts due to a fight over charter schools. A law backed by the Democrat led legislature with support from the teacher’s union is under fire from critics such as Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of the city who feels that the growth of charter schools will be severely curbed by this.

The deadline for submitting the application for the $4.35 billion Race to the Top funds competition in the horizon, there was a frantic attempt to negotiate and compromise in order to make the state eligible for the first phase of the contest. Whether there is a compromise or not, New York is set on submitting the bid.

In spite of the fact that there is a maximum amount of $700 million at stake, it is not really clear whether there will be any significant breakthrough. Even after allowing the maximum number of charter schools which is around 400, the city will run short of 50 schools as per the goal set by the Race to the Top program.

According to the plan, new limits will be imposed on the approval process of the charter schools which according to critics will only result in limiting the chances of New York City to win approval and in curbing the expansion of the charter schools.

Union Federation of Teachers opposed the efforts of the Paterson administration in choosing students for charter schools based on a lottery system. According to them it is extremely vital to impose strict mandates that will effectively enhance the percentage of non-English-speaking students, special education students and poorer students to be enrolled at these schools. According to them, there is less likelihood that students who participate in the lottery will have special needs.

Largest amounts from the Race to the Top funds will be won by states that apply based on the number of students. According to this plan, there are possibilities of obtaining $350 to $700 funds by the large state of New York. Based on the powerful and positive changes in the education system of the states, they will be awarded points. States must try and win maximum number of points in order to have a chance of winning funds.

One of the eligibilities for earning high points is there must not be a cap on charter school or the cap must be at least ten percent of state’s schools. An option for states is to skip the first round of application and compete in the June for the second phase of the program.

Leaders of the legislation have proposed increasing the state wide cap on charter schools to 400, which is still 50 less than the eligibility target. In a move that is troubling to the Mayor and the Governor, lawmakers want to reduce and limit the power of approval for the Board of Regents which sets policies in education.

The aim of the Race to the Top program initiated by Obama is to dangle the carrot of funds to encourage swift and effective policy reforms in states especially during a time when most of them are struggling with budget deficit.