Wednesday June 30, 2010 | 01:42 PM

Could Maine's chances of claiming a piece of the $3.4 billion Race to the Top pot be getting slimmer?

Alyson Klein of Education Week reports that top House Democrats are contemplating a move that would trim $500 million from the Race to the Top fund to help pay for a $10 billion bill meant to save education jobs considered at risk once federal economic stimulus money dries up.

The Democrats' move would also take $200 million from the Teacher Incentive Fund aimed at spurring experimentation with performance pay for teachers and another $100 million meant to inspire education innovation.

On the Race to the Top front, Klein notes it's unclear whether the $500 million cut would come from the award money for states or the $350 million meant to fund improved assessments. That latter pool of money is what the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, the group led by former Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, is competing for.

Klein notes that Republicans, along with the Department of Education, are already critical of the move. The American Federation of Teachers doesn't exactly agree, either, Klein reports. I haven't yet seen the reaction of the National Education Association, the Maine Education Association's umbrella organization.

The Maine Education Association hasn't been a reliable cheerleader for Race to the Top, so news that funds might be redirected from a competitive reform grant program to a job-saving bill might be welcome.

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