Governor John Engler
1997 State of the State Address - 1997
Majority Leader Posthumus, Speaker Hertel, colleagues in government, citizens of
Michigan:
I stand here tonight at the midpoint of my term, proud of what we have accomplished,
optimistic about what we will do together.
I am proud to report to the people of Michigan that in terms of reform and results, the
last legislative session is unmatched in state history.
Thus, the state of our state is better than ever.
For it has been a quarter century since welfare was needed by so few . . . a quarter
century since the rate of violent crime was down so far . . . and a quarter century since
unemployment was so low.
My friends, America knows that Michigan is back as a state of basic values, big ideas,
and bold leadership.
State after state is copying Michigan -- reforming school funding, reorganizing
government and reducing taxes.
We have strengthened Michigan's foundation -- now, our greatest challenge is to secure
Michigan's future for our families.
Securing our future means making sure that our children have every chance to be safe,
smart and successful.
Over the past six years, we have taken many steps that are making a difference for
Michigan's families.
We are on the right course. We will not turn back. We must forge ahead.
We must forge ahead so every child can attend a high quality school . . . so every
child is protected from violence and abuse . . . so every worker has the skills to compete
and succeed . . . so every family is safe in their homes and neighborhoods . . . and so
every generation to come is assured a Michigan as beautiful and bountiful as the Michigan
we enjoy today.
Our families, our future -- let those words be our inspiration as we work together --
today, tomorrow, forever.
IMPROVING OUR SCHOOLS
My fellow citizens, nothing is more important to the future of families than the
quality of our children's education.
Education is the ladder from poverty to prosperity. Education makes equal opportunity
possible. Education is the key to the American dream. And it is the lack of education, or
poor quality education, that too often makes welfare and prisons necessary.
Let me tell you where Michigan stands when it comes to public education.
We know firsthand that some of our public schools and many of our teachers are the very
best in the world.
But we also know that too many schools are failing our children and that some teachers
feel threatened in their own classrooms.
We know that Michigan students score above average on national tests.
But we also know that we can do better and our children deserve better.
We know that parental involvement is the key to student success.
But we also know that too many parents feel shut out and ignored. In particular, less
than one-third of African-American families give their local schools high marks.
We know that Michigan spends $11 billion a year on public education, that spending on
our schools has quadrupled over the past 20 years and that we are more generous with our
schools than 42 other states.
But we also know that money alone does not raise student performance.
We know that Proposal A has dramatically increased equity in school funding, and that
next year, for the first time, every school district will receive more than $5,000 per
pupil.
But we also know that the performance gap between urban and non-urban districts is
intolerable.
In addition to knowing where Michigan stands, it is important for you to know where I
stand as governor. I am for public education.
Being for public education has meant increasing funding for public schools 25 percent
in just five years.
Being for public education means that in the 1998 general fund budget I will send you
next week, school spending, for the first time, will amount to more than everything else
combined -- more than prisons, police, agriculture, courts -- everything else combined.
Being for public education means giving our 1.6 million students and their parents and
teachers more quality school choices. Today, with 77 charter public schools and more than
two hundred school districts participating in our landmark school choice program, Michigan
is a national leader.
I am pleased to announce that the National Conference on Quality in Education has
accepted my invitation to come to Dearborn this November. As a result, Michigan will have
a chance to show America what we're doing and learn lessons from our sister states.
Being for public education means backing President Clinton's call for more charter
schools. Last week, the President announced the doubling of federal support for charter
schools.
I propose that Michigan be the first state to take advantage of this national public
school initiative. Further, I invite members of the president's own party in this
legislature to join us as partners in opening the doors to more charter public schools.
Let's work together!
Being for public education means holding all of our schools accountable -- accountable
to parents, to employers and to taxpayers.
Being for public education means insisting on high standards and rigorous tests to
measure our progress.
Being for public education means empowering teachers, defending local control and
disclosing to parents how their schools measure up -- with other area schools, with
schools statewide, nationwide, worldwide.
Being for public education means making sure that every school, every classroom, every
teacher, every student is safe.
Being for public education means keeping education our top priority!
One key to quality education is quality teachers. Proud, passionate -- these
professional men and women are making a difference in the lives of students every day.
That's why I was outraged to read in the Detroit News that in one high school this year
nine teachers have been assaulted.
When teachers are attacked in their own classrooms, academic performance is also a
casualty. I may be old fashioned, but it seems to me, if a student lays a hand on a
teacher, that student is gone.
If a basketball player pushes a referee, that player is out of the game. If a student
assaults a teacher, that student should be out of the school.
We've already taken a successful step forward by expelling students who bring weapons
to school. As a result, we're moving bad kids out of class and helping good kids move to
the head of the class.
Now it's time for the next step. I am proposing the immediate expulsion of any student
who assaults a teacher.
This legislation will be sponsored by Senator Leon Stille and Representative Jessie
Dalman and will also protect bus drivers, security personnel and all other school
employees as well.
Let's do the right thing. Let's stand up for our teachers and kids who play by the
rules. Let's pass this bill in 30 days.
Further, I invite the leadership of the Michigan Federation of Teachers and the
Michigan Education Association to join with us in developing and passing this legislation.
I have just stressed the importance of protecting teachers from bad kids who disrupt
their classrooms, but what should we do when the school is bad?
For too long, the reaction has been: "It's somebody else's school. It's somebody
else's problem." It may be somebody else's school but it is our problem.
If I told you that 99 percent of the 11th-graders in one southwest Michigan school
district failed their state proficiency test in science and that 95 percent of the
11th-graders in our largest school district failed their science test, you would say:
"That's an outrage -- something must be done."
I agree. We must act to help the children in Benton Harbor, in Detroit and in other
failing school districts.
Last week, Detroit School Board member Dr. Margaret Betts said, "We need help.
We're educating some kids, but we're losing too many." She's right. It's time we
stand shoulder to shoulder to help these kids.
My friends, how in good conscience can we look the other way when thousands of children
trapped in failing public schools have no other choice and no other chance?
Already, the state can hold school districts accountable when they fail to meet strict
financial standards. However, nothing happens when school districts fail year after year
to meet even minimal performance standards.
To me, a system of accountability that focuses only on dollars and cents makes no sense
and shortchanges our children. We have no choice. We must change the system!
So to help our children, I propose the School District Accountability Act to be
sponsored by one of Michigan's most able advocates for school reform and a public school
parent himself -- Senator Dan DeGrow.
This new Accountability Act would allow state intervention in any school district if
either of the following minimal standards is not met:
- first, when more than 80 percent of the students fail the state proficiency test;
- second, when the dropout rate is higher than 25 percent.
In addition, I support authorizing the State Board of Education to establish other
criteria that would allow for state intervention.
I realize that some will recoil at the thought of state intervention. They will argue
that local control means they should be in charge.
As I said earlier, I defend local control, but I cannot defend failure. The standards
that will trigger state intervention -- 80 percent failing or 25 percent dropping out --
are proof that something is seriously wrong and we cannot sit by and ignore the problems
in the name of local control.
No one -- no one in this room, no one in this state -- can stand up and defend a school
district that fails 80 percent of our kids.
Make no mistake about it -- I will not, and this legislature should not, turn away from
children in need. We must act to put the children first and fix their schools.
All of us took an oath to uphold Michigan's Constitution which says, ". . .
schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
Let's stand by that oath and do what it takes to educate our children.
REFORMING WELFARE AND PROTECTING CHILDREN
Ladies and gentlemen, we are doing what it takes to break the cycle of dependency. As
families go to work and incomes rise, welfare reform in Michigan continues to be a
national model. The key to our success has been a requirement that all families work, and
that policy will continue.
Welfare caseloads have dropped by more than one-quarter over the last three years. In
Project Zero test areas, the number of families without income from employment dropped by
more than one-quarter in just three months! Now, more than half of all Project Zero
participants are working and earning a paycheck.
For Family Independence Agency social workers like Ann Hunt, who are now making
housecalls to work with their clients, satisfaction from beating paperwork deadlines is
being replaced by satisfaction at seeing families achieve success.
Tonight, I propose we build on the success of Project Zero -- our full employment
initiative which I announced last year. We will double this program and continue to move
social workers into the community and welfare recipients into the workforce.
We reform welfare not just because it gives parents a helping hand to independence but
because it gives children a helping hand to a better future.
Children -- their health, safety, education and quality of life -- have been our
priority from day one. I am proud of our accomplishments:
- the number of adoptions -- doubled;
- the number of abortions -- down;
- more than 100,000 welfare families -- independent;
- teen pregnancy -- down;
- infant mortality -- at a record low;
- immunization rate -- up dramatically;
- health insurance for kids -- top ten in the nation;
- welfare families working -- more than 30 percent statewide; and,
- number of child deaths -- down by 25 percent.
These accomplishments are making a difference in the lives of many Michigan families
and improving the prospects for many Michigan children.
While fewer children are threatened by poverty and illness, unfortunately, too many
children are threatened by adults, sometimes their own parents.
There is no excuse for child abuse. Every child deserves a chance at childhood.
No one in Michigan has worked harder for reform than our Lt. Governor, Connie Binsfeld.
Last year, Connie chaired a special Children's Commission to recommend ways to make
Michigan a better place for children to live and to be loved. It is Connie's dream and
mission for every child to find what she most appropriately calls "a forever
family."
Connie is not alone in caring for Michigan's children. There are hundreds of committed
caseworkers and thousands of foster and adoptive parents who want nothing more than for
each child in their care to find and keep that forever family. Like the elderly couple
who, since 1991, has found homes for 19 children, including four sets of brothers and
sisters and two teenagers with special needs.
While we have already begun to implement key recommendations of the report, tonight I
am pleased to announce even more progress:
- First, we seek to change both state and federal laws to allow protective service workers
access to information necessary to safeguard children from exposure to hazards like drug
abuse or criminal behavior. At the same time, the FIA director should also be given the
authority to release information to the public when it is in the best interest of the
child.
- Second, we will undertake a new, coordinated campaign to recruit adoptive families and
to raise public awareness about the benefits of adoption.
- Third, to strengthen accountability, the state will publish an annual report card for
each agency and court, including each county FIA office regarding their performance in
finding permanent homes for children. We will also continue to press all public and
private agencies to shorten the time it takes to find permanent homes.
- Fourth, to assure appropriate and consistent medical treatment, a medical passport,
including immunization records, will be developed and implemented for children in foster
care.
- And finally, in cases where abuse ends the life of a child, special review teams will
investigate in order to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
Our children's agenda has saved lives. Now, more children will get a chance at
childhood.
As we're working to save the lives of children, medical research is telling us more
about the basic building blocks of life itself.
Scientists around the world, including top-notch researchers at the University of
Michigan, are creating an incredibly detailed map of our genetic information. Already, the
genetic bases for more than 4,000 diseases have been identified, and new genes are being
discovered at a rate of two per week.
My friends, this research creates an unbelievably exciting potential to prevent, delay
or minimize disease that is absolutely unprecedented in human history. As the University
of Michigan's Dr. Francis Collins, one of world's leading genetic researchers, has said:
"This information carries the potential to do enormous good for people, in terms
of reducing illness and suffering. Yet I am deeply concerned that this information can
also be turned around to be used against people."
To safeguard that information and to develop a model state policy regarding the use of
genetic information, I will soon appoint a Governor's Commission on Genetic Privacy and
Progress to recommend ways to protect genetic privacy, prevent discrimination and maximize
the beneficial uses of new medical knowledge.
If we are prepared to act now, we will not be forced to react in the future.
CREATING JOBS AND TRAINING WORKERS
One area where we have acted decisively is in revitalizing Michigan's economy and
helping families provide for their children.
Michigan's economic renaissance has proven that to create better jobs, raise take-home
pay and strengthen families -- cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes.
To build on our record, tonight I am announcing tax cuts of $350 million over the next
two years.
The good news is you don't have to pass any bills. These tax cuts are already law and
will be phased in this year and next.
There's more good news:
- 21 tax cuts have already saved taxpayers more than $6.5 billion.
- $1.1 billion is on deposit in our Rainy Day Fund.
- The nation's only tax-free Renaissance Zones are up and running.
- Michigan has America's best record of creating manufacturing jobs.
- Income growth in Michigan since 1990 has been the fastest in the entire nation -- up
more than 25 percent.
- And unemployment is at the lowest level since 1969 -- when man first walked on the moon.
Cutting taxes and controlling state spending have contributed to economic conditions
that are the best in three decades.
Since we began working together to launch our "Taxpayer's Agenda," more than
500,000 Michigan men and women have found new jobs. Take a look at Sunday's
"Employment" section of the paper -- 24 pages of opportunities. In fact, we have
so many good jobs, we can't fill them fast enough.
The University of Michigan projects that the Big Three will hire well over 100,000 new
workers right here in Michigan over the next five years.
High-paying jobs like these are the backbone of Michigan's economy -- bread and butter
jobs for Michigan's families. These jobs range from work our grandparents might have done
-- as carpenters, bricklayers and electricians -- to jobs our grandparents never imagined,
involving computers, robots and lasers.
TIME magazine called these jobs "gold collar" since they can pay as much as
$30 to $40 an hour. Interestingly, most of these gold collar jobs don't require a
four-year college degree. What they do require is extensive training, especially
work-based education.
In fact, better than seven out of ten jobs in America today don't need a college
degree. But more and more high school graduates are attending college -- about two out of
three do enroll in a college program. Only about half ever earn a degree.
For students who don't go to college or decide that college isn't right for them, there
aren't enough choices and opportunities. For too long, these young people -- who want a
good job in a career that has a future -- have been forgotten and left behind.
Tonight, I am taking two actions to insure they won't be forgotten anymore.
First, an executive order based on the excellent work done by Representative Glenn
Oxender to establish a statewide framework for career preparation.
Second, legislation to fund a career preparation system based on high standards with
maximum local collaboration so the training fits the jobs. In addition, I will recommend a
$30 million increase to reward schools that take up this challenge.
A successful partnership that is paving the way is the Kent Advanced Manufacturing
Academy in Grand Rapids. This school responds to the need for world-class employees in
manufacturing by bringing together local employers and the community college in a program
for high school students that integrates academic and technical instruction with
work-place training.
Beyond the two concrete steps I just mentioned, we must also take a step forward in
changing attitudes as well. First, the words "vocational education" must vanish
from our vocabulary. Those words reflect a system and a mindset that don't get the job
done today and won't fit in the 21st century. Instead, we must focus on "career
preparation" and teaching our children that success in a career means learning must
never stop.
Working together, employers and educators will develop regional career preparation
plans and a curriculum that integrates academic and technical skills, including worksite
learning and employment for graduates.
It is no longer good enough for a high school to simply have a shop program or a career
day. In this era of high tech and high skills, we must create new options for all
students, especially those who are not college bound.
Our initiative involves a new kind of school -- the Advanced Career Academy -- 21st
century joint ventures between education and business that will deliver targeted,
high-skill, high-wage technical and academic skills to high school students.
The keys to the success of this strategy are: first, new partnerships with employers
and educators; second, dramatic changes in attitudes; and third, an unprecedented
commitment to elevate career prep to the same plane as college prep so that no one is left
behind.
Make no mistake about it. This proposal cannot become a partisan issue. It is just too
important to the future of our children and the future of Michigan's economy.
The Council on Competitiveness, a national non-partisan group of leaders from business,
labor and education, recently released their assessment of America's competitive position
over the last decade and set forth a prescription for the future. Here's what they said:
". . . The education and skill levels of [our] workforce will be the most serious
competitiveness hurdle that the United States will face over the next decade."
My friends, the only way we can help Michigan over that hurdle is by working together.
Getting over that hurdle and preparing our workers for the 21st century also means
making sure our students have access to the best and most powerful education resources in
the world.
More than 98% of Michigan's K-12 students have some level of Internet access in their
schools. Our libraries, community colleges and institutions of higher education are all
investing in advanced telecommunication technologies to link information users with
information sources in the blink of an eye.
I am committed to encouraging the development of learning applications to reach the
global resources that are just a keystroke and a modem away from our desktop computers.
We must also generate awareness about these new applications and expand teacher
training to ensure that "access" translates into improved learning and superior
performance for students of all ages.
To that end, this session, I will send you a message on technology that builds on the
solid framework already in place and puts Michigan on the cutting edge -- of learning,
teaching, communicating and advancing the frontiers of knowledge.
BUILDING AND FIXING ROADS
Just as a new strategy is important for preparing our workers, a new strategy is
important for repairing our infrastructure.
Since 1991, our Build Michigan program has rebuilt, repaired and resurfaced more roads
and bridges than in any comparable period in state history. Look at the accomplishments:
- In Macomb County, M59 -- delayed more than 20 years, will be completed next year.
- In Oakland County, the Haggerty Connector -- 15 years on the drawing board -- now
meeting the needs of one of Michigan's fastest growing counties.
- In Wayne County, the Davison Freeway -- a local highway with no hope of repair -- now a
state priority being completely rebuilt.
- In mid-Michigan, US-27 -- a project talked about since the early 70s -- is now getting
done.
- And in west Michigan -- M37 in Grand Rapids and the 9th Street Bridge in Kalamazoo --
two more examples of our commitment to Michigan roads.
- 1,000 miles of highways were improved each year -- double the previous goal.
- Funding to repair bridges was increased by 350 percent, including the inspection and
evaluation of all 4,900 Michigan bridges. Some 200 bridges found in critical need of
repair have already been rebuilt.
- And while the state was busy building roads and fixing problems all across Michigan, we
increased local transportation funding by 25 percent.
Build Michigan accomplished all this, and much more, without raising the fuel tax one
penny.
But there's more to building highways than concrete and asphalt. And what we
accomplished transforming the Michigan Department of Transportation into a more efficient
agency is another success story that must be told.
MDOT has taken aggressive steps to streamline operations and trim 600 employees,
raising an extra $100 million over the past six years to fix our roads.
But despite all we have done, I remain concerned about the state of Michigan's roads.
Frequently, I am asked: When is the legislature going to raise fuel taxes to fix our
roads?
I believe before fuel taxes are raised, we must exhaust every alternative, lower costs
as much as possible and enact every possible reform. I am not satisfied that we have done
our utmost. So tonight, I am not recommending that this legislature raise fuel taxes.
Instead, I propose a specific, seven-point plan to fix more of our roads:
ONE. I ask you to act promptly to approve $70 million in additional money for the 1997
roadbuilding season. This action will make approximately $40 million available for local
projects and $30 million for state highway projects.
As a result, state construction will begin on the South Beltline project in Kent County
and the connection of I-75 to the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit.
TWO. For the 1998 roadbuilding season, I am recommending $110 million for bridge repair
and $180 million for highway and bridge maintenance.
THREE. I renew my call to stop frivolous and outrageous lawsuits -- a reform that will
yield as much as $15 million to $25 million a year to fix our roads. I commend the Senate
for passing this much-needed reform in the last session.
FOUR. I renew my call to eliminate the outdated and unnecessary "spillage
allowance." This reform would mean another $15 million annually to fix our roads.
FIVE. We will continue our drive to reduce the cost of operating MDOT. By next year,
compared to when I took office, the department will be smaller by nearly 1,000 employees.
At the same time, duplicative facilities will be closed, freeing up millions of dollars to
fix our roads. Every additional dollar in administrative savings is an additional dollar
for road repair.
SIX. At a time when state government is making every effort to increase efficiency and
reduce costs, taxpayers have a right to expect that county road commissions and other
local governments, who receive 60 cents of every fuel tax dollar, are making every effort
as well.
Because some local road agencies are fighting to keep the auditor general out and their
books secret, tonight I propose that you pass legislation making it clear the secrecy will
stop. Our state books are open. Local books should be open as well.
In addition, the basic formula that allocates gas tax revenue among the state, counties
and local governments expires next year. I will appoint a task force to review this
40-year-old formula and recommend necessary updates.
SEVEN. I realize that some will say that even if you do all these things -- cut costs,
exhaust alternatives, enact every reform possible, and add new money -- it's still not
enough and we need to raise taxes. To tax advocates, I have a question: What about the
taxes we already pay to Washington -- where so many of our tax dollars go and so few come
back?
I agree with Senator Don Koivisto when he said, and I quote: "I'd really like
Michigan to receive a greater share of our federal tax dollars for transportation. For
every $1.00 we send to Washington, we get 85 cents in return. . . ."
I propose that we launch a bipartisan congressional initiative to persuade the
Administration and Congress that Michigan should get its fair share. Success in Washington
could mean bringing back home more than $200 million of Michigan's money to fix Michigan's
roads.
Perhaps the best solution is legislation being developed by Congressmen John Kasich of
Ohio and Nick Smith of Michigan and Senator Spencer Abraham to transfer the authority over
the interstate highway system, along with all federal taxes, to the states.
This seven-point plan is the equivalent of a six to eight cent hike in the fuel tax. I
realize raising taxes would be easy for some, but in this case, the tough choices are the
right choices.
There's one other issue being debated in Washington that deserves mention -- the
Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
I support the Balanced Budget Amendment and so do Michigan voters. When Congress takes
up this historic amendment next month, I urge them to pass it and submit it to the states.
I invite this legislature to join the debate, call upon your colleagues in Congress to
act and help the federal budget look more like Michigan's budget -- balanced.
Wouldn't it be a proud moment for Michigan to be one of the first states to ratify the
Balanced Budget Amendment? I know I would be proud to tell my children that, in 1997, we
had the courage to stop mortgaging their future.
FIGHTING CRIME AND PROTECTING FAMILIES
While rebuilding roads and balancing the federal budget are important, rebuilding safe
communities is even more important. That's why fighting crime continues to be a top
priority.
Our crime-fighti
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