solanco school district officials did not apply for the federal race to the top grant which would have provided nearly one-half million dollars in additional federal funding to improve student academic achievement. participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. in pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate. pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. the failure of most districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that the obama administration cited when it decided pennsylvania was not approved.