Texas Says No Thanks to Federal Education Funds

Perry said Wednesday that Texas knows how to best educate its students, and the states application for "Race to the Top" funds would be penalized by the U.S. Department of Education for refusing to commit to adopt national curriculum standards and tests.

Perry says it would be foolish and irresponsible to place Texas childrens future in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and special interest groups thousands of miles away in Washington.

Perry says if Washington were truly concerned about funding education with solutions that match local challenges, they would make the money available to states with no strings attached.

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott says he wholeheartedly supports the governors decision, because the one-time grant program would result in mandates for districts that would last for decades.

Texas could be eligible for up to 750-million-dollars in "Race to the Top" funding, but it would reportedly cost Texas taxpayers up to three-billion-dollars to realign the education system to conform with the U.S. Department of Educations curriculum standards.