April 9, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – Six Wisconsin school districts won't be receiving Early Reading First (ERF) grants this year, and Rep. Tom Petri is not happy about it.

Petri explained that when the U.S. Education Department announced on Jan. 22 which school districts would be eligible for ERF grants, the school districts of Appleton, Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, Neenah, Manitowoc and Oshkosh were mistakenly left off the list. "Following the original application deadline of Feb. 21, the Department issued a modification on March 7 announcing an error on the list of eligible districts and subsequently reopened the competition until March 23, a mere two weeks later," Petri said in a letter of protest to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.

"While the abbreviated timeframe put these affected districts at a competitive disadvantage, this disadvantage was further exacerbated by the fact that all other districts were also granted an extension until March 23 to revise and improve their original applications," he wrote. "Ultimately, the six school districts that I represent chose not to apply given the short deadline and the confusion surrounding the competition."

Petri said that his staff contacted the Education Department on March 21, 22 and 23, but found officials there unwilling to consider any changes to the March 23 deadline.

Petri asked Spellings for a report on the implementation of the grant competition, and asked the Secretary whether she believed that the affected schools had been given a fair opportunity to compete, given the abbreviated timeframe. "I hope you will agree that the fair oversight of competitive grants is of utmost importance in the future," he wrote.