Chalkbeat and Matt Tully have articles reporting that the governor has chosen to drop out of an opportunity to get $80 million in pre-kindergarten education grant funding.
Tully reports that the State’s chances of getting the grant were very good:
Pence’s Family and Social Services Administration had worked with the state Department of Education and others on the grant since the federal government rejected a previous application last year. The state’s odds had greatly improved this year, as the federal government recently announced in the Federal Register that Indiana was among just two states, along with Arizona, that had qualified to apply for up to $20 million annually, for up to four years. The two states were labeled “category one” states; they were eligible to apply for substantially more money than the other 13 states.
The explanation from the Governor’s office was vague, citing concerns about getting involved unnecessarily with the federal government and generalities about “untested and unproven objectives in federal policy.” The cynical mind, however, immediately jumps to Gov. Pence’s presidential ambitions.
Even bearing in mind that our share of this federal money is coming out of our pockets anyway and will now be going to some other state instead, I think we can all agree that forgoing $80 million to improve the education of young Hoosiers is a small price to pay to ease the minds of Iowa and New Hampshire caucus and primary voters.
I understand that the governor turned the money down because there were “additional conditions that come with federal grants” that he didn’t like. I couldn’t find what they were in the story. Almost afraid to ask. but does anyone know the identity of these conditions?
Pretty sure he didn’t specify.
I think I know them:
1) Republican primary voters will be told by talk shows that taking 80 million to help kids makes you Obama.
2) Certain talk show hosts accuse Pence of toadying up to Obama because his HIP thing (while it sucks) is still close to expanding Medicaid.
3) Local rich folks are just as ill-informed as average Hoosiers, which relates to 1 and 2
1) Money folks in the Rightwing with huge Church-based mailing lists (-and reliable Republican voters) don’t want their daycare monopolies challenged with federal health and safety regulations.
2) Gov. Pander Moron wants to be President which takes tons of money from wealthy Republicans who want to keep all their taxes.
3) federal = bad , state = good
4) who cares about covering 5700 more poor kids? Their parents don’t vote (Republican).
I’ve heard some outfit called “Hoosiers Against Common Core”, which appears to consist of one pretty dedicated blogger and upwards of sixty or seventy readers, pushed him pretty hard to do this. A profile in courage he ain’t.
Hence my favorite name for him – Gov. Pander Moron.
I’m sure that Pence will be asking the Legislature for a $20 million tax increase to replace the funds. Amiright?
In fairness, those Pre-K kids are, historically, a bunch of moochers.
Yep – and you thought the voter ID laws were put in place to discriminate against minorities. No, they were to ensure the under-18 group was not able to vote. The whole lot of them want free food, shelter, help with their homework, etc. It’s never-ending. Then, after all that assistance, they think they know it all.
They’re a menace. They should come up with a law to keep them off the streets at night.
This reminds me of the old story where Indianapolis in the 1970’s turned down federal funding to help fix their sewers (which, with a modicum of rain, overflow into streams and rivers) because they didn’t want to increase the federal deficit.
Of course, a few years ago, resolving this issue became mandatory and there is no longer any funding assistance, so the ratepayers have to fund it themselves.
I’d love to get confirmation on that story.
Has Pence ever gone to a Pre-K school?
Only the rich can afford a Pence education.
So, is anyone keeping record of the money that this state has missed or turned down? There was the tobacco money that the AG missed because he was helping other states with gay rights, then the Medicare money that Pence decided we didn’t need, and now. A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon you are talking about some real money. But that’s no problem for a state with a huge rainy day fund. Did I hear thunder?
By the way, let’s point out that the lovely $2billion surplus touted by Pence as part of his “Indiana Way” (anyone else see the outline of his Presidential campaign showing?) is based on 5 years of the $300 million they withheld from public education at the end of Mitch’s term… 5 x $300 million = $1.5 billion. Even I can do that math.
How many studies that show pre-k doesn’t have to be done before we stop throwing money at the program?
Are you screaming that at Mayor Ballard? What about the pilot program the Governor finally got (as a scaled down version of what he wanted)?
Doesn’t “work. ” I left out a word.
Paul, you know I love you, but you left out meaning as well. Most studies show brain growth is important at pre-K levels. The study you cite is after the “Headstart-ed” kids went to failing public schools. Now, I will concede your last 2 governors hate public schools too, but what if those newly minted pre-K children get into the charter schools run by contributors to the local Republican establishment? They might boost their scores and rebut the claims they are worthless failures, meaning their owner could give more to local Republican candidates!
Win-win
Paul, maybe you could share some of that preschool “research” you mention. Are you sure it’s not some right wing propaganda where the author has twisted information to his satisfaction? There is a whole raft of preschool studies, some of them going way back to research done at in the early 1900s (Iowa Welfare Research Station studies by Skeels and Dye) to I.U. Bloomington, redone over the years that show preschools can be revolutionary for mental and social growth.
Stuart- you want research? You liberal commie. *snark*
Really would like a rational reason for this action. “Strings attached” is simply too simplistic and more so considering that the state has now taken over local school funding and there are a whole lot of strings attached to that. If this is simply politically motivated then the action is even more distasteful. Not sure comment as to whether pre-school programs are productive is made seriously or not, many will relate the advantages to many children of a planned program of early education. The advantages appear to come mainly from the “disadvantaged children”. Unfortunately, education has become a serious issue in Indiana and quite frankly the lack of productive leadership from the state government (the controller of all funding and policy making) leaves a lot of concern. So, let us lay the blame on teachers and teacher training programs and over paid local administration—and thus we have answered all the problems.
The answer: all Hoosiers must sacrifice to make me president is too truthful for a press release
Exactly. Although it is almost short enough for a bumper sticker. Maybe that’s what he means by the “Indiana Way”.
Maybe that’s what Pence means when he talks about the Indiana way.