Matthew Tully

It's been a year of long-overdue momentum for preschool in Indiana, with the state's first investment in it and major pushes from the city of Indianapolis as well as corporate and philanthropic organizations.

After years of frustration among early learning advocates, and after decades of watching other states lead on a crucial piece of the education puzzle, it's been wonderful to see a change in behavior in Indiana.

Then came Thursday, and word that Gov. Mike Pence's administration had made the surprise, last-minute and largely unexplained decision not to apply for a federal education grant that could have brought Indiana up to $80 million more to spend on preschool programs for low-income students. That would have been several times more money than the state has committed to spending under a Pence-led pilot program.

The decision was not publicly announced, but an internal email that I obtained Thursday shared the news with members of the Indiana Early Learning Advisory Committee, which Pence helped create in 2013. The email was sent Wednesday, the same day the federal grant application was due and expected to be filed. The decision not to pursue the federal money scuttled months of what by all accounts has been bipartisan collaboration between state education leaders.

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.

According to the federal document, Indiana was eligible for a "development grant" that could be used "to build, develop, and expand high-quality preschool programs so that more children from low- and moderate-income families enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life."

None of this guaranteed Indiana federal funding, but it did suggest it was likely to receive many millions, and the grant program's objective echoes what Pence and many others have been talking about achieving of late. It comes at a time of increased investment in early learning in the state, which is something the federal government tends to reward.

In Wednesday's email, Early Learning Advisory Committee Chairman Kevin Bain, a Pence appointee, announced to the group's other members that the "administration has decided not to submit the federal pre-K grant application."

Bain then posted a statement from Pence's office. "While accepting federal grant dollars can at times be justified to advance our state's objectives," it reads in part, "when it comes to early childhood education, I believe Indiana must develop our own pre-K program for disadvantaged children without federal intrusion."

The statement does not point to specific issues with the federal rules but notes that "we must be vigilant as we design the program the Indiana way and avoid the pitfalls that too often accompany untested and unproven objectives in federal policy." Reached Thursday afternoon, Bain insisted the work toward more preschool would continue.

"This (grant) was going to accelerate our work," he said, "but this decision doesn't change the scope of things that we are working on."

A Pence administration spokeswoman, meanwhile, said the governor was concerned about additional "strings" that come with federal dollars, but would not elaborate. "We said what we wanted to say in the statement," the spokeswoman, Christy Denault, said.

It didn't say enough, though. The Pence administration owes it to the Hoosier public to explain in detail why it has backed away from what could have been a game-changing grant. It owes it to the state to prove that this is a decision made for serious reasons, and not out of political considerations.

There has been speculation that the governor, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination, has concerns that students who participate in the federally funded preschool program would later have to go through kindergarten readiness assessment screenings. If so, he should both explain his concerns and make clear what is wrong with a program aimed at making sure students are prepared to succeed in kindergarten.

He hasn't explained such things because, in all likelihood, this was a political decision — one perhaps with a view toward Iowa, New Hampshire and the anti-federal sentiment that plays a huge role in GOP primaries. As one local political figure said Thursday, "The only one who benefits from this decision is Pence."

Advocates seeking the grant have estimated it could have helped Indiana serve up to 2,000 more children from low-income families — for reference, that is more than the total number of kindergarteners in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School district. The grant application also would have targeted million of dollars toward improving the state's pre-K infrastructure, funding initiatives such as assessment systems, local coordinators, family engagement programs and informational portals to help parents learn about high-quality preschool options.

For a state government that for so long ignored the benefits of providing at-risk children with more early learning programs, this grant could have laid a tremendous foundation. For a state that so often treats spending on such programs as a luxury, it could have moved the needle without touching the state budget. For a state filled with leaders who still somehow have doubts about the value of early learning, this grant could have allowed the most ambitious study yet into the long-term value of preschool.

Sen. Tim Lanane of Anderson, the Democratic leader in the Indiana Senate, was among those demanding more answers from the governor, and questioning what Pence's decision would mean for Indiana's most vulnerable children.

"The idea that we would, at this point, abruptly throw this opportunity away is hard to fathom," he said in a statement.

It's indeed hard to fathom. And for the next generation, it appears to be a huge lost opportunity.

You can reach me atmatthew.tully@indystar.com or at Twitter.com/matthewltully.