Washington was not among 19 states selected as semifinalists Tuesday for the Race to the Top grant by the U.S. Department of Education.

But that does not mean changes will not occur within the South Kitsap School District and others across the state.

“When we put together our application, we were committed, win or lose, to making sure we would carry out education reform our way — the Washington way,” State Board of Education chair Jeff Vincent said in a news release. “Race to the Top enabled us to spend time creating a road map to our education reform efforts through a draft plan that reflected the work of many diverse groups. We will finalize the plan this fall and use it to prioritize and allocate resources as we move ahead.”

The federal government announced last year that it planned to award $4.35 billion to states that were willing to make substantial changes aimed at improving U.S. education. Two states, Delaware and Tennessee, were awarded grants last year during the first round of the competition.

Washington’s share of the remaining $3.4-billion pot could have been as much as $250 million. SKSD superintendent Dave LaRose said it would have provided the district about $860,000 over a four-year period.

But the program also has been controversial. South Kitsap Education Association president Judy Arbogast cited another standards-based education reform, No Child Left Behind, when she discussed the potential impact of Race to the Top in May.

“We’re very leery of some of the things behind it,” Arbogast said. “It’s pretty impossible to reach every child when you’re competing for the money that everybody should be getting.”

Arbogast also said she was concerned that the program might “pit teachers against each other for a few dollars.”

“Somebody has decided that these are the measures you need to reach to receive these grants,” she said. “I’m not so sure they’re the right things we need to be working for, especially if we’re reaching every child. It’s kind of counterintuitive to me.”

LaRose said Tuesday that the district will wait to see the response from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction before making any decisions on changes.