At the request of Superintendent James A. Williams, the Buffalo Board of Education last month urged the state to impose a moratorium on new charter schools in and around Buffalo.

But Williams is now about to endorse a state grant application that calls for a major expansion of charter schools in New York State.

The reason for the turnaround is money — big money.

The state seeks as much as $700 million from the federal Race to the Top grants, which will be awarded to states later this year on a competitive basis.

Buffalo figures to get a sizable portion of any money New York lands but will be eligible for the money only if Williams signs off on a set of reforms the state Education Department proposed.

Based on federal guidelines stressing innovation and reform, the state loaded up that application with initiatives to increase the number and scope of charter schools.

That left Williams with two choices: stand firm on his effort to halt the growth of charter schools or put Buffalo in the running for millions of federal dollars.

He chose the latter. “Sometimes as superintendent you have to take the middle of the road,” Williams said Tuesday. “If it means an additional $500,000 at five or six of our schools, selfishness should not be the driving force. You have to do what’s best for the children.”

As a result, Williams said he will tell a Board of Education committee this evening that he will sign the state memorandum, even though it would broaden the role of charter schools. The document urges the State Legislature to:

Raise the statewide cap on charter schools to 400 from 200 to facilitate the growth of charter high schools serving students with disabilities, students working below grade level, and refugees and immigrants who don’t speak English.

Authorize State Education Commissioner David Steiner, “in extraordinary circumstances,” to convert struggling traditional schools into charter schools.

Make charter schools eligible for assistance from Boards of Cooperative Educational Services.

Steiner also urged school board presidents and the heads of district unions to sign the memorandum, saying that would increase the chances of gaining federal funds from the Race for the Top grants, which will total $4.35 billion nationally. But unlike superintendents, their signatures are not required.

Buffalo Board of Education President Ralph Hernandez said he will sign the document only if it is supported by the full board this evening. He said he expects that to happen because “no one is going to walk away” from the possibility of millions of dollars in federal grants.

But Hernandez said he is “troubled” by many aspects of the state’s memorandum, including a provision that would evaluate teachers on student test scores.

“For taxpayers who are frustrated and angry over the slow pace of public school improvements, it’s easy to understand the appeal of the Race to the Top initiative,” Hernandez said. “[But] the best empirical evidence out there raises sharp questions about relying on charter schools and merit pay as the principal means of solving public education problems.”

Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore sent a letter Tuesday to union officials, spelling out numerous objections to the memorandum and urging the union’s Council of Delegates to vote against it at a Jan. 21 meeting.

In the meantime, Rumore said he will not endorse the document before the state’s Friday deadline.

“I know it’s a lot of money, but I can’t in good conscience sign it,” he said.