Seems rather obvious, doesn’t it? He is always one to watch! But 2016 will be very telling for Jack. His legacy will be defined, one way or another. We should find out what his post-Governor plans are. I’m hoping he just goes away, but something tells me Jack has VERY specific plans. I will watch very closely for how much he tries to hang out with Hilary Clinton. If you thought Arne Duncan was a nightmare, you haven’t seen anything yet. Trust me, you do not want Delaware Governor Jack Markell as the Secretary of Education for the United States Department of Education.
Jack will also have to deal with a mounting budget deficit in his state, projected to be well over $200 million. While that is chump change for many states, Delaware has a population of less than a million. That is a big deal. His precious Delaware Department of Education will most likely not get their requested $87 million in Fiscal Year 2017. Everyone will want a slice of the pie, and it will be very interesting to see who votes in the Delaware 148th General Assembly on what legislation. I imagine the side deals with Markell will be at an all-time high, and he will play the veto card a lot in the next year. Education has always been Markell’s baby, but many legislators said enough is enough when they voted for House Bill 50, the parent opt-out legislation.
Whatever Jack does next, I’m sure he will do it with his usual smile and charm. Walking around like he didn’t wreck Delaware education and continue Delaware’s god-awful cycle of segregation. Jack talks a lot about how much he does for people with disabilities. However, he really hasn’t done a heck of a lot for special education. Think about it. He committed himself to make sure people with disabilities get jobs when they transition to adulthood, but he truly doesn’t help out students with disabilities. In fact, when he set the Delaware DOE’s recent annual measurable objectives, he wants kids on IEPs to go from 19% proficiency on the Smarter Balanced Assessment to 59% in six years. And Congress must be okay with that, because they just passed a bill allowing state’s more authority in education! Something our potential future Governor John Carney just voted for as well…
Under the reign of Governor Jack Markell, we have seen more cronyism in Delaware than should be allowed anywhere. He pimps our children out to the Rodels and other corporate education reformers that flock to Delaware. They must love us and go crazy when they see our DOE put up a contract bid. We pay top dollar for…what? What are the results of Jack’s gigantic education agenda? Are students doing better? Not really. 51% proficiency on anything is still failing. And failing bad. Markell would tell you all about the growth Delaware has experienced. Do you really want a national Secretary of Education who is proud of 51% proficiency? Not that I think anything should be measured in terms of success on a standardized assessment, but since everyone in DC laps it up like it is important, is that really someone we want leading education in America?
Jack brought Mark Murphy to Delaware. We all know what a resounding success that was. And now history is repeating itself with Secretary Godowsky who really should know better, but he is just another one of Jack’s puppets, dancing on the string.
Jack is one of those guys you can never quite pin anything on. You may come close, but he covers his tracks very well. In terms of skating on the thin ice and getting to the other side, Jack is 100% proficient. Try to find something on Jack, and the results will be inconclusive…
The Season Of Myths 