Tom Menino may have been laid up for two months in his Hyde Park home, but he’s hardly been out of action. In fact, Hizzoner seems to have quietly been playing the role of point-man in the state’s effort to reel in as much as $250 million in federal education funding.

In his inaugural address yesterday, the mayor made it clear that education issues would be the top priority of his fifth term. He didn’t wait until yesterday’s swearing-in, however, to make that clear. Throughout his home convalescence from knee surgery, Menino has been pushing a sweeping state education reform bill that would, among other things, give Boston school officials the leeway to restructure — and restaff — underperforming schools without regard to teacher seniority or other aspects of the teachers’ union contract. He’s been working the phones calling legislative leaders, and last month the mayor made a trip into Boston last month for a Parkman House meeting on the education bill with members of Boston’s State House delegation.

Speaking this morning at a State House press conference called by a coalition of area leaders who are pushing the Legislature to approve the bill, which could put Massachusetts in line for as much as $250 million of the $4.3 billion federal Race to the Top fund, Menino added an important name to the list of those he’s been lobbying: US educ

which will be awarded to states that are pursuing innovative education strategies to close the achievement gap. In his remarks, Menino said he has had “several conversations” with US education secretary Arne Duncan over the past two months about the state’s prospects for Race to the Top funding.

Interviewed after the press conference, Menino said the message from Duncan was that Massachusetts stood a decent chance at winning federal funds if the pending reform bill passed, but would likely be out of the money if the bill wasn’t passed or if it was significantly watered down by amendments that weaken the authority of school officials made unilateral decisions to turn around