Metro

Educrats win Race to the Top

The city’s plan for more than $255 million in federal Race to the Top funds has something for everyone — especially educrats, data analysts and consultants, a Post review has found.

The 32-page document calls for creating dozens of positions for midlevel managers at a tab of $28 million — including $5 million to hire “network innovation managers” and “central innovation staff” to create personalized learning programs at just 25 schools.

Another $3.3 million will go toward hiring such experts as operations analysts, to oversee “talent management,” which essentially means supporting the staffers who support the schools.

Nearly $6 million in funding is also earmarked for hiring external consultants to analyze, strategize and design several of the new initiatives.

“I see a lot of money going to figuring out how to measure things . . . I don’t see anything in here that’s for kids,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said.

The money is part of New York’s $696 million share of the $4 billion pot of last year’s Race to the Top funds.

City Department of Education officials said federal guidelines dictate that the money be spent in just four categories: standards and assessments, data systems that support instruction, great teachers and principals and turning around low-performing schools.

The guidelines also require 25 percent of the district’s funds to be spent on new teacher- and principal-evaluation systems.

Of the $47 million the city has earmarked for developing new assessments and online tests, $32.2 million is needed for tests that are aligned with a new Core Curriculum the state is adopting. The UFT’s parent union has even sued the state to ensure that districts have tests other than the current annual state tests for evaluating teachers.

DOE officials said the goal of Race to the Top wasn’t to introduce a program here or a program there, but to make deeper changes that reform teaching and learning across the board.

Since much of that effort involves training teachers and principals on using new systems or initiatives, as much as $78 million will go toward bulking up staff at networks that directly support schools – including $22.8 million dedicated to special education instruction and data analysis work.

yoav.gonen@nypost.com