As a state representative, I take my duty to represent the people of the 40th District very seriously and that includes keeping all of you informed about my work in Lansing. As you may know, I serve on the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for completing the state budget each year. This also includes serving on subcommittees for specific budget areas, including the Michigan State Police budget. I serve as chair of the MSP subcommittee and was tasked with coming up with an efficient and effective budget for the upcoming fiscal year. For those who aren't familiar with the …

Dear Governor,I will try to be brief, which at times, can be a challenge for me.I believe that all considerations to improve educational opportunities and achievements are well intentioned. I have read what I can on the issues including your letter of April 27, 2011. Some changes may have merit. But, I strongly believe, that this one, large program will not fix the numerous problems many school districts face.With all due respect, I believe your proposal is an example of “killing an ant with a cannon” and killing it quickly.I am a parent of a child in the Bloomfield Hills Schools District, …

  May I offer a retired public school teacher’s perspective?Up until now, I’ve been reluctant to chime in on any discussions related to HBs 6004 and 5923, and SBs 1358 and 620, primarily because I can’t offer a remedy to school funding disparities in Michigan. Former BHS Superintendent Gary Doyle said it best: Any jackass can kick down a barn door, but it takes a skilled craftsman to build something. Therefore, in the absence of having a better idea, people often acquiesce to proposals offered by leaders who purportedly care about achieving a fair, workable resolution.It eventually began to …

We are enthusiastically supporting retired music educator, Joan Berndt, in the upcoming School Board election. Joan has also been endorsed by every local publication that has made an endorsement so far in this race; by the Bloomfield Township Supervisor, Leo Savoie; and by the Bloomfield Hills Education Association.For 40+ years Joan has worked tirelessly to improve our schools as a community member, parent (her son is a Lahser graduate), school volunteer, Community Partnership Committee member and finally as a Board trustee. She worked hard to resolve our high school situation by providing …

Our country faces an important week ahead; one can vote for Mitt Romney or President Obama. I would like to voice my opinion on the President because I deeply care for the direction of this country. President Obama is a foul-mouthed liar, and he called Governor Mitt Romney a “bullsh-er.” What type of dishonorable speech is that? That is so unprofessional and non-presidential. That is not the end of Obama. In Obamacare, he is trying to mask up all the details. For example, if an individual has cancer and wants to go straight to chemotherapy, they CAN’T. They have to follow, step by step, the …

The Bloomfield Hills School District community has a difficult decision to make regarding the single open two-year School Board Trustee seat. Two incumbents, Joan Berndt and Rob Herner,  are running, along with a third candidate.  Both incumbents are excellent candidates.  However, the next two years will be focused on getting the new Bloomfield Hills High School built, on time and on budget.  Because of his extensive background as the owner of a business that integrated technology into classrooms and because of his ability to ask the tough questions regarding the new high school, I feel that…

  Recently, a few people have posted blogs on Bloomfield Patch that don’t allow for comments. Since two of these people are candidates for public office, I think that shouldn’t be allowed. The content of their blogs aren’t at issue, but the process where a candidate can post their agenda and block feedback is antithetical to a blog.I urge you to either require bloggers (or at least candidates for public office) to have their blogs open to comment or not allow those blogs to be posted. I understand this is an on line publication with different rules than conventional print newspapers but I …

  For those of you who did not see the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum for BHSD Board of Education Trustees on October 2, I encourage you to watch the televised rebroadcast. Many said the forum was among the best, most informative, most civilized seen in recent years. It was, coincidentally, a display of remarkable agreements seasoned with widely divergent views about many important issues. In short, it was the type of discussion that should be the hallmark of Board of Education Meetings – not just reserved for campaign seasons. It was the slate of challengers that brought the …

Last Thursday I volunteered at the freshman Challenge Day event at Andover High School.  Freshman from both Lahser and Andover participated.  According to www.challengeday.org, their mission is, "to provide youth and community with experiential workshops and programs that demonstrate the possibilities of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression." It is a powerful event, to say the least, and brings up many emotions. Throughout the day, over and over again, I was struck by how excited the kids were to be together as one. The energy of the united group…

  The idea expressed here is at least as old as Thomas Jefferson: the freedoms and rights provided in the Constitution can be turned against the Constitution itself – but they shouldn’t be. A recent usage provides an illuminating, if extreme, example. In 2006, the eminent jurist Richard Posner authored a book, Not a Suicide Pact (Oxford UP), responding to claims that the government had gone too far in its fight against terrorism. Posner reminded readers that the Constitution does not automatically withstand the kind of pressure we sometimes want to throw at it. Giving a non US citizen the …

  I am writing to encourage my neighbors in Bloomfield Hills and Oakland County to support the Detroit Institute of Arts by voting YES on August 7 for our county’s art institute authority. The DIA is one of the top art museums in the world and we are fortunate to have it in our region.Many of my neighbors might not be aware of how frequently Oakland County residents visit the DIA or how often the DIA visits us. In the last couple of years, more than 12,000 Oakland County students have been to the DIA and 3,000 Oakland County residents from community organizations toured the recent blockbuster…

The following was written after attending a panel discussion organized by opposition to the DIA millage.  The panel included State Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester), Bruce Walker of MichiganView.com, County Commissioner Robert Gosselin, and Simon Haddad of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance. 1. "The City of Detroit continues to own the Museum's permanent art collection, including works of art acquired prior or subsequent to the operating agreement, as well as the Museum building and grounds." Despite this, the City of Detroit does not want to provide any funding to support the DIA. In 2011, the …

A successful state representative should have a least three specific strengths: intelligence, political savvy and leadership. Of the 110 current state representatives, not one of them is an economist. Mr. Wolkinson earned both a bachelor's and master's of economics from U-M by age 21. As the intellectual candidate, he is uniquely qualified to understand the state's struggle between growth and austerity, and, importantly, to explain to legislators and voters alike the dead-weight economic losses associated with over-taxation. Mr. Wolkinson has received the endorsements of Right to Life and the…

  This year the residents of the 40th District for the State House of Representatives are fortunate to have a very qualified group of candidates to choose from. I am writing to endorse Mike McCready, who I believe is the best candidate to serve the people of our district.As the former Supervisor of Bloomfield Township, I had the privilege of working with Mike as Commissioner for the City of Bloomfield Hills on many issues of importance between our communities. I have always been impressed with his dedication to his constituents and his ability to use his vast business success to the …

  Last month, the Bloomfield Hills Schools Board of Education approved a 3-year contract with the BHEA (Bloomfield Hills Education Association). As reported in the press, “Because of changes to health care plans, the district has determined that they will realize an estimated savings of $64,400 to $526,406 in school year 2012-2013, and $1,708,632 in the 2013-2014 school year.” These savings appear to be in line with reforms mandated by state legislation on school employee health care benefits funding. The publicly distributed package for the June 21 BHS Board meeting says, “The savings from …

  Memorial Day is a holiday of parades, carnivals, cook-outs and first trips to the beach as we celebrate the start of another Michigan summer season. While we are meeting or re-acquainting with our neighbors, having a little fun and getting a break from work, I wonder if, in spite of being a nation at war for a decade, we have lost sight of why this once private event became a national holiday.It began as Decoration Day. Promoted by the Grand Army of the Republic, the Civil War veterans association, it was a time for the families and friends of the fallen to visit their graves, spruce them …

  Dear friends, We are not angry of the results of May 8 millage. The BHS board invested $3 million dollars to pass it. We are not angry about the 79 millions cost of the project but for the fact that no money, not a penny, is earmarked for education. We are angry with parents who neglected to understand that Andover ranked nationally #448 and Lahser #711. That only 49.4 percent of Andover and 48.2p percent of Lahser graduates were college ready and 23 percent of our students in colleges needed remedial courses. What do 'YES' parents think? A nice building is not a valued diploma. We are …

  As a Bloomfield Township parent, I want to take this opportunity to express my and my family's heartfelt gratitude to all involved in One Bloomfield United for their dedication and hard work in getting the school bond passed. I am proud of how they ran their campaign. They took "the high road" and focused on issues, not emotions. It was an intelligent campaign that brought many in our community together toward a common goal. I also want toacknowledge Superintendent Glass, the Board and his staff for their work in reaching out to the community, listening to their concerns, and developing a …

  Like many Patch readers, I will be voting YES on May 8th, 2012. Positions are now firmly established so I only urge everyone to mark the date and get to the polls. I also urge Patch readers to begin anticipating what happens after May 8th. I have been very frustrated at times with the mode of argument adopted by some no voters and members of 20/20 in particular. But, as far as I can tell, most members of 20/20 are interested, like many of us, in the reform of public education. Public education itself is under severe attack – not by those who want reform but by those who want it abolished …

  I just spent more on stationary and stamps to send my neighborhood a letter about the school bond than what it will cost more a year in taxes to appropriately right-size our high schools. Bloomfield Hills High School, home of the Black Hawks, opens in the Fall of 2013 regardless of the bond's passing. The vote on May 8th will determine the structure of the school and the reputation of the community for generations to come. Voters will decide if all students will be on one campus in one renovated building OR if the student body is divided into two old and out-dated buildings (with 9th …