The American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts has decided that their state doesn’t really  need the hundreds of millions of dollars being given away by the Obama administration in the latest round of Race to the Top funding:

The state’s second-largest teachers union organization, which represents teachers in Boston and other big cities, has decided to boycott Massachusetts’ application for the Obama administration’s innovative educational fund, possibly jeopardizing $250 million in grants.

The move, approved Saturday by the board of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, stunned state education leaders, key legislators, and charitable organizations that work on education issues. …

“It’s shortsighted,’’ said Mitchell Chester, the state’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education. “It doesn’t do justice to the dedicated teachers we have in this state, including teachers in the AFT locals, who are in fact committed to reforms.’’

No word yet from the AFT on why they would essentially pull the plug on the state scoring hundreds of millions of much-needed dollars. It probably has something to do with the fact that the union has struggled mightily against enacting common sense reforms that would reward teachers who excel at improving the educational experience of their students. Got to protect those jobs even if that protection comes at the expense of the kids who could use that extra funding, after all.

Photo courtesy of Orange42