Some education officials are feeling like the federal Race to the Top has turned into a Jumbled Mess for the Money.

Last year, the Obama administration announced $4.35 billion in competitive Race to the Top grants that would be distributed to fewer than 10 states that embraced such school reform initiatives as merit pay, data-driven curriculum and enhanced accountability measures.

Minnesota began compiling its application in December, asking individual school districts that wanted a portion of Minnesota’s potentially $200 million allotment to sign a Memorandum of Agreement that loosely binds those districts into implementing Race to the Top reforms by 2012-13.

But the state wanted districts to sign and return those agreements by Jan. 13, leaving districts little time to discuss the issue with teachers, union representatives and stakeholders.

“It feels rushed,” said Dave Johnson, superintendent of Le Sueur-Henderson Public Schools. “It feels like we’re jumping through hoops to get the money.”

Educators acknowledge the federal grant process is geared toward improving student achievement. Many of the initiatives, they point out, are already being done by many schools in the state — including professional learning communities, student data tracking and merit pay (called Q Comp in Minnesota).

But educators also point out the district application does not require approval from the union representative or school board representative to be submitted; and there are opt-out provisions for districts that apply and then decide they don’t want to agree to the terms. Both are clear signs, some say, that the emphasis is not on school achievement, but on securing additional federal funds for a state that is facing $1.2 billion budget shortfall in the next legislative session.

And while most area districts will be submitting an application to the state — including Mankato Area Public Schools — many will do so without full support from fellow district leaders.

“We’re still talking about the pluses and minuses of signing on,” said New Ulm Supt. Harold Remme. “We want to make sure staff have an understanding of all the basics of the Race to Top program. ... It’s a complicated situation.”

Further complicating the matter is that the program has become a full-blown political issue.

Last month, the state’s teachers union, Education Minnesota, announced official opposition to Race to the Top, saying the union did not agree that “more tracking and ranking will lead to better teaching.”

Last week, Charlie Kyte, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, endorsed the federal program in his blog, but did so while cautioning against the “overreach of the federal government into the functions of education.”

At the state level, some superintendents are worried Race to the Top reforms — especially Q Comp — will be enacted statewide no matter what happens. That could mean districts that did not apply for the program would still have to implement the reforms but without Race to the Top funds.

“It looks like a program with real potential to provide revenue for staff development and help districts improve student achievement,” said St. Peter Supt. Jeff Olson. “But we’ll see.”