Prom Alert for Andover, Lahser Students and Parents: Patch Wants Your Photos

We know you take hundreds of photos, so send us a pic or two of pre-prom and prom festivities so we can feature them on Patch.

Did you like the photo galleries we posted of both the Andover High School and Lahser High School homecoming dances last fall? We'd like to do it again for the school's respective proms this weekend. But we need your help. Andover's prom is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Townsend Hotel. Lahser's prom also begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Knollwood Country Club. Since we can't be at both, and wouldn't want to favor coverage for one at the expense to the other, we'd love to have parents and teens help make a photo gallery they'd be proud to share with rest of the community. So much of prom is about who you’re with and the memories you make . . . and, of course what you're wearing. Let's see those photos! We know parents and students …

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OPINION: Stick to Our Own Fields and Let the Educators Do Their Jobs

Any child’s education is dependent on many variables beyond what happens in the classroom, and individuality, not a school system, is the greatest determinant of output and potential.

  It is only here in America (especially here in Bloomfield Hills) where we feel that we are entitled to dictate to those whose profession is different than our own. To illustrate my point let’s look at Dr. Barr’s Letter to the Editor. Dr. Barr is an MD (medical doctor). Would any of us that are not MD’s think to judge Dr. Barr’s work? Probably not. In the here and now though there are many, including Dr. Barr, that are judging whether or not our education establishment is doing its’ job. They are doing this based on the most recent set of magazine rankings of our public high schools. The criterion that is used to set those rankings changes from year to year yet some of us hold those rankings in high esteem. As adults we should recognize …

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Letter to the Editor

OPINION: We Are Not Angry Over the May 8 Millage Results, But . . .

Education will now be compromised further by approval of high school consolidation millage.

  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 angry that previous millages that democratically rejected the very millage passed nevertheless on May 8 bond election. What will the school teach our …

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Lisa

6:40 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012

Linda P., As OBU Treasurer and the filer of the pre election report, I can confirm that Mr. Gaba accurately submitted all required information for the report to me. I recorded it, and you, and anyone else, are welcome to review it. But as an attorney, I caution that it is an actionable offense to accuse someone of a crime. It's called defamation. Specifically, libel, since you chose to publish it…   more ›

Third Time a Charm for BHS High School Consolidation Millage

Now the focus moves toward implementing the two-year transition plan for a unified Bloomfield Hills High School under one roof.

  The Bloomfield Hills Schools and Superintendent Rob Glass asked voters for one last shot to resolve a decade-long community dispute over the future of the district's high schools, and they got it Tuesday. The proposal approving use of $59 million in public bonds passed by a 61 percent margin, according to election results from the Oakland County Elections Office. Now, the focus will be on implementing a two-year, multifaceted transition plan to use the bonds to house both Andover and Lahser high schools under one roof on the current Andover campus. "Now we have to execute," Glass acknowledged amid the fervor of district supporters and volunteers celebrating the victory Tuesday evening at the Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac. "We've heard …

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Critical Questions About the BHS High School Vote

Nearly a decade of often heated debate will culminate today in what the Bloomfield Hills Schools says will be the final vote on the high school dilemma.

  Pass or fail, today's vote will mark the beginning of a new era in Bloomfield Hills Schools history. Here's a last-minute primer for those heading to the polls. For previous coverage, visit the Bloomfield Hills Schools High School Consolidation Millage Topic Page. The district plan calls for roughly $79 million to merge the high schools under one roof. Voters are being asked to approve $58.6 million in bonds (1.16 mills) to make it happen. The owner of a home with a taxable value of $250,000 is expected to pay $290 annually; and the owner of a home with a taxable value of $150,000 is expected to pay $174 annually. The district's existing bond debt, however, is set to decrease in 2014 due to a reduction in Sinking Fund millages approved …

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Letter to the Editor

OPINION: One Building on One Campus is the Right Thing to Do

The vote on May 8th will determine the structure of the school and the reputation of the community for generations to come.

  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 graders permanently alone in one of those buildings). The one building on one campus solution saves the district $2.4 million in operating costs annually. …

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