Georgia lost out Friday on its bid to become a two-time Race to the Top grant winner and to have $70 million to invest in early childhood learning.
Instead the Obama administration announced that nine states -- including neighboring North Carolina -- will share $500 million over the next four years.
Bobby Cagle, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, called the announcement "disappointing."
But he said one major initiative -- a statewide child care rating system -- will still move forward. Cagle had hoped to use $10 million of the $70 million to get the rating system off the ground.
But he said Friday that he'll rev up private fundraising to cover the costs of setting up a system for rating all day and child-care centers, including private in-home centers, Head Start facilities and public and private pre-kindergarten centers.
Georgia was one of 37 states to compete for the early learing grants. In 2010, the state was the recipient of a $400 million, four-year Race to the Top grant aimed at improving K-12 education.
Friday's winners include: California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington.
They were announced at a White House briefing at 10 a.m. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared it a "big, big day for the country."
"We're trying to transform the quality of education in this country," Duncan said. "Everyone who works in education can agree that investing in early learning is one of the smartest things to do."
He said it has a good foundation has the potential to change a student's course through high school and college. It's also been proven especially helpful for low-income students, Duncan said.
Georgia was considered a darkhorse, in part, because applicants were given extra points for having a childcare rating system already in place.
North Carolina was among the first to set up such a system. Georgia had long considered it, but only formally announced plans for a system just before the Race to the Top applicants were due this fall.
The grants are made possible through an additional $700 million Congress set aside for the Obama administration's Race to the Top brand in the fiscal 2011 budget deal reached earlier this year.
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