Jack Markell ’82, currently serving his second term as governor of Delaware, talks to Brown Political Review’s Henry Knight. Markell is a former chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association, and concentrated in economics and development studies at Brown.
Brown Political Review: Given the public’s disenchantment with national politics, is it now up to the states to spearhead action?
Jack Markell: Yes, I would say that’s true across virtually every subject area you can think of, with the exception of national defense, because the states don’t really have a role beyond the National Guard. Whether it’s education, public safety, or really pretty much every issue given the level of gridlock and dysfunction in Washington, I think it is incumbent upon states and local governments to figure out how we can move the ball.
BPR: Do you see that trend specifically in your daily work as governor?
If we focus on schools, the workforce, quality of life, linkages with institutions of higher education, a predictable regulatory environment, then we’re going to win more than we lose. And that really has to be the focus of governors these days. Markell: I think we put the citizen at the center of everything we do if we focus on the things that will make a difference in their lives. As governors, the major issues we’re focusing on are jobs, schools, and being good stewards of the taxpayer’s money. For example, when we’re asking how to put more people to work in our communities, in large part our efforts are guided by what we hear from businesses. We live in a world where there are three billion people looking for jobs, but only 1.2 billion jobs available. So quality of life issues are important, because we’re clearly in this global war for jobs, which means we’re in a war for talent – because the jobs will go where the talent is. Talented people want to work in places where they want to live. So all of these things involving quality of life, public safety, and the like – all of these seem integral. If we focus on schools, the workforce, quality of life, linkages with institutions of higher education, a predictable regulatory environment, then we’re going to win more than we lose. And that really has to be the focus of governors these days.
BPR: What are some initiatives you’ve led on those fronts? For instance, how have you encouraged business development and job creation?
Markell: We talk to businesses. The question I always ask is, “What can we do to facilitate your success?” We’re incredibly focused on continuing to improve our schools. We’re focused on regulatory reform. We just completed a yearlong effort where we changed or got rid of more than 130 regulations across state government. You have to focus on those issues, the issues that will make a difference not only next week and next month, but also years from now. For example, we’re opening twenty world language immersion schools in the state of Delaware. This year, we have 850 kindergarteners and first graders who are learning science, social studies, and math in either Chinese or Spanish. They spend half their school day learning in a different language. By the time they’re in the fourth grade, they’ll be proficient. By the time they’re in ninth grade, they’ll be taking the AP test. These are really important and valuable opportunities for these kids.
BPR: On the subject of education reform, Delaware recently won a phase 1 “Race to the Top” federal education grant. How does this fit into your strategy for improving education in your state?
Markell: It starts with early childhood education. We’ve not just thrown money at the problem, but really focused on quality by making a significant investment in early childhood. First, we’re seeing a significant increase in the number of kids who are enrolled in the quality preschools, as opposed to just any early childhood education center. Second, regarding the K-12 system, we’re making sure that wherever possible, teachers and administrators have access to good data about student achievement, which allows them to be more thoughtful and figure out how to work with different kids. We’re elevating the teaching profession by raising the bar about what it takes to get into an teacher preparation institution in the first place. Additionally, we’re very much focused on giving teachers the opportunity to share with each other. Each of our teachers spends ninety minutes a week with five of their peers drilling into what the data is telling them about student performance. We think that’s very powerful.
We’ve also focused in a big way on college access. We just announced a partnership with the College Board to focus on particularly high-performing but low-income kids. These are kids who could absolutely be successful in college, but because they’re low-income, they often don’t apply. We’re really focusing on making sure that they know what the process is all about, getting volunteers to help them through the process, getting them application fee waivers so that they can apply, and also recognizing that there’s a good likelihood that there will be money available for them to go.
BPR: You also eliminated the Delaware Student Testing Program, a state assessment similar to Rhode Island’s controversial NECAP test. Why?
Markell: When we got rid of that one test, we replaced it with one that we think is a better assessment. There’s nothing wrong with measures of student achievement, which help inform how teachers are doing, particularly if you focus on what sort of growth students are making. But there also has to be enough flexibility in the system so that the relationship between a principal and a teacher is more than just a set of numbers. Finding that balance is really challenging.
BPR: How did you balance Delaware’s budget and emerge from the $800 million deficit you inherited?
Markell: Painfully. Before we did anything, we established a few key principles. There was going to be shared sacrifice so that no one group would have to bear all of the burden. We wanted to protect the most vulnerable in our society. We wanted to continue to invest in things that would lead to our future prosperity, like education and economic development. We really tried to find solutions within those principles and it was very, very painful. But we did it. The one thing we know is that over the long term, we’re not going to be able to tax and cut our way to a prosperous world. The only way to emerge from a deficit is to grow our way out of it.
BPR: Given that strategy, what advice do you have for congressional leaders trying to reduce our deficit without gutting entitlements?
Markell: The primary focus ought to be on growth, because if you can increase the growth rate of the GDP by even a percentage point, that’s going to have a huge impact on reducing the debt and deficit. Beyond that, you have to remember that this is the taxpayers’ money. If you’re going to ask them for more, through some kind of tax increase, then you have to convince them that you’re doing everything you can to spend their money wisely. You have to be able to point to specific things that you’ve done to be more efficient.
BPR: How do you think your background in development studies and economics from Brown prepared you to govern?
Markell: The most important thing you can get out of any college is the ability to ask good questions and to be thoughtful about approaching problems. I see myself as more of a problem solver than as a politician. I think I learned a lot of that at Brown. I can’t remember a time when any university had four governors in office. It’s not a coincidence.