"I wish we could have acted quicker on Detroit or other failing schools"
About this Quote
A terse confession of lost time, the line blends regret with a reformers creed: problems compound when leaders hesitate. It points to a period when Detroit’s schools were sliding under the weight of deindustrialization, population loss, shrinking revenues, and deep mistrust of institutions, yet decisive, coordinated action lagged. As Michigan’s governor in the 1990s, John Engler pushed sweeping changes such as Proposal A, which revamped school finance, and he backed charter expansion and accountability. He also signed the 1999 law that replaced Detroit’s elected school board with an appointed reform board and a CEO. Looking back, saying he wished to have acted quicker suggests that even these moves felt belated against the pace of decline.
The phrase “Detroit or other failing schools” widens the lens beyond one district. It reflects a conviction that failure was systemic, not isolated, and that early intervention matters: close or restructure chronic low performers, replace ineffective leadership, shift control when governance collapses, and create alternatives before families lose hope and leave. It also hints at a policy wager common to the era: standards, competition, and managerial change could interrupt cycles of low performance if deployed fast enough.
Yet speed carries costs. In Detroit, state takeovers and rapid charter growth delivered mixed results and fueled resentment in a majority-Black city where residents saw disenfranchisement and uneven school quality. Facilities deteriorated, finances remained unstable, and test scores often stagnated. Acting quickly without building trust, capacity, and oversight can fracture communities and scatter students across a patchwork of options with no coherent plan.
The line, then, captures a governing dilemma: urgency versus legitimacy. Waiting lets problems harden; rushing without inclusive design can deepen them. The implied lesson is not merely to move faster, but to align speed with credible strategies, transparent governance, and sustained support. When decline accelerates, timing matters, but so do the people and structures tasked with making change stick.
The phrase “Detroit or other failing schools” widens the lens beyond one district. It reflects a conviction that failure was systemic, not isolated, and that early intervention matters: close or restructure chronic low performers, replace ineffective leadership, shift control when governance collapses, and create alternatives before families lose hope and leave. It also hints at a policy wager common to the era: standards, competition, and managerial change could interrupt cycles of low performance if deployed fast enough.
Yet speed carries costs. In Detroit, state takeovers and rapid charter growth delivered mixed results and fueled resentment in a majority-Black city where residents saw disenfranchisement and uneven school quality. Facilities deteriorated, finances remained unstable, and test scores often stagnated. Acting quickly without building trust, capacity, and oversight can fracture communities and scatter students across a patchwork of options with no coherent plan.
The line, then, captures a governing dilemma: urgency versus legitimacy. Waiting lets problems harden; rushing without inclusive design can deepen them. The implied lesson is not merely to move faster, but to align speed with credible strategies, transparent governance, and sustained support. When decline accelerates, timing matters, but so do the people and structures tasked with making change stick.
Quote Details
| Topic | Teaching |
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