South Carolina education leaders made their pitch Tuesday in a hotly contested national competition for a share of $4.3 billion in federal Race to the Top grants.

In education’s version of the “Sweet Sixteen,” South Carolina is among 16 states involved in their own March Madness this week. Fivemember teams from each state are in Washington to present their case for education innovation grants available through the federal economic stimulus package.

The finalists are Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and the District of Columbia.

South Carolina’s application is for about $300 million. The first grants in the Race to the Top initiative will be announced in April.

Cherokee County was among many school districts statewide which signed a memo of agreement in December to participate in the grant application.

School districts are required to commit to an education reform plan picked by South Carolina. The plans require states to turn around low-performing schools, address teacher quality, career and college preparation for students, and create education data systems to support student achievement.

Director of High School Programs Page McCraw said school districts had to sign the state agreement to be eligible for any money awarded from the Race to the Top grant program.

“We are pleased South Carolina is a finalist,” McCraw said. “We look forward to being a part of the Race to the Top initiative if South Carolina is selected.”

After today’s presentation by South Carolina’s team, the judges conferred privately and adjusted the state’s final grade based on how team members answered questions. National news reports have hinted that as few as three winners will be announced in the first round of grant awards next month.

States that don’t win can reapply June 1 for Round Two, with final awards given out in September.

“That was a rigorous, comprehensive 90 minutes,” said State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex in a news release Tuesday. “We heard solid, detailed questions from the judges and I think our team did a terrific job of providing solid, detailed answers. We have ambitious proposals and the fact that we’re a finalist in this competition shows that South Carolina is viewed as being on the cutting edge of making the changes that will make schools stronger.

“What the federal government is doing, really, is placing major bets on a few states that have the capacity to be a transformational force in the nation,” Rex said in a news release. “And what we did today was try to make a strong case that South Carolina is a state worth betting on.”