EDITORIAL: Mike Pence on track with career education

We’re glad Gov. Mike Pence made education the central issue in his State of the State address, especially his push to create more career and vocational opportunities for high school students.

The governor is putting money behind his rhetoric, proposing a $40 million increase in funding for career and vocational programs. By 2020, he wants to see a fivefold increase in students graduating with industry-recognized credentials.

Such programs don’t just put students on a path toward becoming productive members of society. They’re also a boon to businesses, which often struggle to find workers with the technical skills needed to work in a range of fields, from welding to advanced manufacturing.

State of the State addresses by tradition are full of platitudes, and Pence hewed to that playbook. He praised the Legislature as “the best” in America, and he declared that “the best days for Indiana are yet to come.”

He offered the most specifics on education. It’s a crucial topic. Whether Indiana improves K-12 education and achieves its goal of helping more Hoosiers attain technical certifications and post-secondary degrees will have a huge impact on the economic vitality of the state for decades to come.

While the devil will be in the details, we were pleased to see Pence propose adding $200 million to K-12 school funding, plus earmark another $63 million for bonuses for top-performing teachers.

But all those big numbers also had the unintentional effect of underscoring the paltry sum Pence is proposing for his pilot preschool program for poor children—just $10 million per year over the next two years. While that fully funds the pilot program—his signature accomplishment in the 2014 legislative session—many preschool advocates were hoping for an expansion.

Count us among them. We’d like far more money earmarked to help put at-risk kids on a successful path before they enter first grade. The pilot is tiny, with fewer than 500 students expected to enroll this year, increasing to at least 1,600 next year.

In his speech, Pence said, “Every Hoosier child deserves to start school ready to learn.” Unfortunately, his pilot program falls far short of making that a reality.

This speech was closely watched nationally because Pence is widely viewed as a GOP presidential contender. Parts clearly were crafted for an audience beyond our borders, especially his push for an Indiana balanced budget amendment and his push for states’ rights. He quoted President Reagan’s famous statement that the federal government was “still operating on the outdated and arrogant assumptions that the states can’t manage their own affairs.”

That’s all well and good. But it isn’t political posturing that will help improve the lives of Hoosiers; it’s specific, well-crafted initiatives. We’re glad the governor is starting the session with an education agenda that can make a real difference.•

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