MCPS and "Investing in Innovation" Fund

Did you know that MCPS and Pearson Publishing established a relationship BEFORE the Board of Education meeting on June 8, 2010?

Oops - you won't find any mention in the minutes of the Board of Education.

Here is the language in the now approved Pearson Contract, section 8H:

MCPS has applied for a US DOE Investing in Innovation I3 grant (“Grant”) to facilitate the development of the Program, which Grant contemplates Publisher’s participation in the Program development process. Prior to MCPS’s submission of the Grant application, MCPS and Publisher reviewed the final guidelines and mutually determined that the Program is eligible for Grant funding and that conditions of the Grant were acceptable for both Publisher and MCPS.

But what is the Investing in Innovation program?  Will MCPS's application be successful?  Does it fit the program guidelines?

This writer has to do a lot more research on the topic, but here is what I've found so far. 

Here is what is involved in the Investing in Innovation Fund, as outlined on the Department of Education Webpage:

Program Type: Cooperative agreements (for Scale-up grants) and discretionary grants (for Validation grants and Development grants)
Program Description: The Investing in Innovation Fund, established under section 14007 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), provides funding to support (1) local educational agencies (LEAs), and (2) nonprofit organizations in partnership with (a) one or more LEAs or (b) a consortium of schools. The purpose of this program is to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on improving student achievement or student growth, closing achievement gaps, decreasing dropout rates, increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college enrollment and completion rates.
These grants will (1) allow eligible entities to expand and develop innovative practices that can serve as models of best practices, (2) allow eligible entities to work in partnership with the private sector and the philanthropic community, and (3) identify and document best practices that can be shared and taken to scale based on demonstrated success. 

Wow.  This is a lot of material to digest.  More commentary will follow, but here are my questions.

Did our school board review the conditions of the grant or the application itself BEFORE the school system submitted its application to the Department of Education?

Is the Pearson Project the best idea on behalf of our students?

What funding level is anticipated as part of the grant?  What if MCPS doesn't get all of the funding?

Do we have a budget?

Inquiring parents and taxpayers need to know, especially if our Board of Education declines to protect our interests.