As governor, I learned the importance of having an agenda.
- John Engler Quote

As you look around the country there are still a significant number of states where their whole school debate is over school funding and we've been focused on the quality debate for most of the '90s.
- John Engler Quote

Believe me, I'm not going to try to get into testing.
- John Engler Quote

Given the professionalism of Michigan teachers, I think they're not teaching because of the financial rewards.
- John Engler Quote

I care about the children of Detroit.
- John Engler Quote

I created no authority that wasn't already there under the constitution.
- John Engler Quote

I had made a decision early on that we were going to do the right things and that if they worked we were going to be very successful. And if for some reason they didn't, all the claims and the protestations and the excuses wouldn't make any difference.
- John Engler Quote

I just have a position that any child that's in a failing school should be able to get out, or be in a position to have that school fixed.
- John Engler Quote

I kept telling everyone I wasn't going to Washington to stay. I go to visit.
- John Engler Quote

I think we've got outstanding teaching in Michigan classrooms.
- John Engler Quote

I'm very pleased with the job President Bush is doing and he's off to a terrific start.
- John Engler Quote

I've been in the legislative branch and now the executive branch and in each case I felt it was important we use our constitutional responsibilities to the fullest.
- John Engler Quote

Manufacturers account for nearly 60 percent of all industrial research and development.
- John Engler Quote

Manufacturers employ more than 14 million Americans doing what Americans do best, making things, building things, transforming raw materials into finished products.
- John Engler Quote

Michigan is also the only industrial state that has a AAA credit rating.
- John Engler Quote

Redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take.
- John Engler Quote

Sometimes it is better to begin the journey, to get under way, then it is to sit back and wait until such time that you're convinced that all conditions are perfect and that there'll be no surprises along the route.
- John Engler Quote

The Clean Michigan Initiative has been and continues to be a success.
- John Engler Quote

The greatest luck that I've had has been the ability to find men and women who came into my administration who worked with me and brought extraordinary talents that we were able to take full advantage of.
- John Engler Quote

The parent knows instinctively that if they're working and setting an example for their child that means that child is more likely to be in school, more likely to stay out of trouble and more likely to complete their education.
- John Engler Quote

Very few charter schools are being created in some of the best school districts in the state. If you're an educational innovator, that isn't where the greatest need is.
- John Engler Quote

We have broken the cycle of dependency. People have found out they're better off working.
- John Engler Quote

While America's infrastructure needs are substantial, there is no reason to delay completion of the highway bill. Every day of delay means jobs lost, investment opportunities missed and growth sacrificed.
- John Engler Quote