Thirteen senators are urging their colleagues to spare Race to the Top and other administration K-12 priorities and come up with another way to help finance aid to states to prevent teacher layoffs.

“The proposed education cuts are unacceptable,” the group wrote in a letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman. “Choosing between preserving teacher jobs and supporting vital education reforms is a false choice and would set a dangerous precedent. By reducing promised funding for these important reforms, Congress would be pulling the rug out from under the efforts of thousands of communities around the country working to improve their schools.”

Their letter comes on the heels of a threat by the Obama administration to veto the entire bill if the cuts remain.

The effort was lead by Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and includes 12 other Democrats: Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Thomas Carper of Delaware, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Dianne Feinstein of California, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mark Udall of Colorado, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Mark Warner of Virginia, plus one independent, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.