Madfloridian's Journal - Florida wants 1 billion of Arne's 4. 3 billion to hire corporate consultants. Unbelievable.

From the Orlando Sentinel's Central Florida blogwatch.

Consultants would make out like bandits under Race to the Top

This really boggles the mind. Somehow I missed this in January.

I've been leafing through the state's application for federal Race to the Top funds and have come to a quick conclusion: This might be a good time to add the word "consultant" to your business card

..."Florida has asked for $1.1 billion of the $4.35 billion available nationwide in Race to the Top grants.

What immediately became clear when I scrolled through the state's proposed spending plan is that "consultants" will make out like bandits.

If the state gets the whole $1.1 billion it asked for (which some say is a very long shot), the Department of Education would spend half and school districts that agreed to take part would share half.

There's more.

To help districts set up new systems to evaluate teachers and administrators -- 60 consultants at a cost of $15 million.

To help districts figure out how to compensate teachers and administrators for getting better performance from students, the state plans to contract with 63 financial consultants at a cost of $45 million.

And there is $10.7 million for consultants to develop "lesson study tool kits" so teachers can study "effective lesson development."

Jim Horn at School Matters blog calls the new DOE stimulus program Race to the Trough.

That sounds pretty accurate to me.

I think that allocation of possible funds speaks so loudly for the corporate nature of the coming school reform....that there is little else that needs to be said.

They are going to spend 45 million to figure out how to get better performance from students.

I have a very good idea. It is an idea that won't cost a penny.

Just ask a teacher. And then demand that parents and students carry their share of the load.