July 27, 2010

 Washington, DC – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today made the following statement on the news that Nevada was not selected as a finalist for the second round of the “Race to the Top” competition. A panel of peer reviewers selected 19 states as finalists.

 “I join Nevada’s students and their parents in being disappointed with Governor Gibbons and his severe lack of leadership in education.  While Governors from other states were aggressively working to pass new reform laws and position their states to take advantage of these important funds, our Governor was satisfied with only meeting the minimum requirement to file our application. His delay in addressing Nevada’s eligibility prevented the state from submitting an application for the first round of funding.  Nearly each of the states named as finalists today were able to get important feedback on their proposals, which ultimately strengthened their second round effort.”

“I commend the work of the blue ribbon panel for doing so much with so little to put together the state’s proposal and develop a strong plan to reform education in Nevada.  It’s unfortunate that their effort has to fall victim to the Governor’s lack of leadership. I remain strongly supportive of Nevada’s education reform proposal and will continue working with state leaders to help implement these reforms and better position Nevada to take advantage of Race to the Top and other competitive, matching funds.”