Ga. has another shot at $400M from grant program

ATLANTA - Georgia has a second chance to win $400 million from the federal 'Race to the Top' grant competition - and five northeast Georgia school systems are among 26 in the state that signed on to the application.

The state was named one of 19 finalists on Tuesday that could receive part of the $3 billion program aimed at spurring innovative reforms that raise student achievement and turn around failing schools. Georgia came in third place during the first round of the program announced March, barely losing out to Tennessee and Delaware.

The 26 school districts that joined the effort, represent more than 40 percent of students in the state. The five northeast Georgia systems are: White, Rabun, Hall, Gwinnett and Gainesville.

Gov. Sonny Perdue said he looks forward to "celebrating a win in this race" when awards are given out in September.

The eighteen other states named as finalists are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. The District of Columbia is also included.

(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)