The Fresno Unified School District and the Fresno Teachers Association will go after an almost $40 million grant for schools.
The two sides came together after negotiating the Race to the Top grant for more than 12 hours.
District and city leaders came out of their 12 hour meeting early Friday morning with a decision to apply for the grant.
Fresno Unified School Superintendent Michael Hansen said, "We now have a very competitive grant and we look forward to submitting this."
Up for grabs is nearly $40 million for local schools.
During the marathon meeting, the teachers union asked the district to change some of the wording in the 200-page application. "It challenged us to do things we have not done before. We started from the ground up and had to build something."
In the paperwork, Fresno Unified spells out its plan for the money and how it will spend the cash over four years, if the grant is approved.
Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin said, "I really just want to complement both the district and the teachers for being willing to work. This is very hard stuff."
Eva Ruiz with the Fresno Teachers Union said, "We worked through many, many details and we're very proud of the work we've done."
Michael Hansen said, "There's a lot of work ahead of us. Whether we win this grant or not, we've got a lot more work to do and I think staying with it to the end means a lot to our city and our community, and I'm glad we're able to stand her tonight and announce that we've reached an agreement to pursue this going forward."
The application will be submitted on Friday but there are no guarantees Fresno will get the money. There are hundreds of other school districts also applying for the federal funds.
