After rejecting millions of dollars in federal funding for Indiana’s pre-K programming, Gov. Mike Pence has come forward in favor of accepting a grant for Indiana’s first state-funded pre-kindergarten pilot program.
“As governor of Indiana, I support access to quality pre-kindergarten education, and I am committed to opening the doors of opportunity to the most vulnerable children in our state,” Pence wrote in a June 2 letter to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
He addresses in the letter the 2014 legislation he signed that created On My Way Pre-K, a program that would dole out grants to underprivileged families with 4-year-old children to ensure they go to a good pre-kindergarten school.
The program, he explains in the letter, will encourage parental engagement and community support and funding, which will strengthen Indiana’s community.
On My Way Pre-K has helped 2,300 low-income children so far and receives $10 million each year in funding, Pence said in the letter.
He also addressed his rejection of the federal funds that could have expanded the program years earlier.
“By not expanding the pilot program prematurely, I kept a promise I made to key legislative leaders in order to gain their support for my prekindergarten program,” he said in the letter. “I promised we would not expand the program until we saw evidence that it was working.”
He explained he’s now looking into the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Preschool Development Grants program for federal funding to expand his established program.
The day Pence’s letter to Burwell was publicized, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz released a statement expressing concern about the future possibilities of federal school funding.
“Sadly, we have been here before with the governor,” she said. “Over two years ago when the governor ‘expressed interest’ in seeking pre-K funding, the department spent hundreds of hours applying for $80 million in federal funding only to have the governor change his mind and cancel the application at the last minute.”
She said in her statement Pence is to blame for Indiana’s lag in implementing pre-kindergarten programs throughout Indiana.
“Our children deserve better,” she said. “I am focused on the education of our children, rather than Governor Pence’s political showboating.”
In his letter, Pence asked Burwell to let him know when the Preschool Development Grants program application would be available so that the Indiana government can plan for their next budget session.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to expand a program that has produced great results for young Hoosiers,” he said.
Anicka Slachta
