Ed Commissioner sets deadline for 'Race' application

Minnesota's Education Commissioner is setting a deadline for determining whether the state re-applies for federal funds in the Race to the Top program.

After Minnesota wasn't even a finalist in the first round of Race to the Top awards, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the state wouldn't apply again if lawmakers didn't pass reforms he has long touted.

Those changes include creating an alternative way to enter the teaching profession mid-career... and strengthening the tie between teacher pay raises and the performance of their students.

In an email sent Wednesday to the state's superintendents, Education Commissioner Alice Seagren says the state will not re-apply for Race to the Top if lawmakers don't agree to those initiatives by this Sunday, May 9.

If the changes are enacted and the state does re-apply, officials will only have about three weeks to finalize the application that's due June First.