The following article was written collaboratively with Craig Allen, who is the Superintendent of Breitung Schools. The opinions expressed here are our own.

Our tax dollars are increasingly paying for boutique classes attended in segregated settings for homeschooled families. Homeschool parents, who do not want their children to attend school with children in their communities, are being catered to by public school districts who are finding workarounds and loopholes in Michigan’s school funding rules. The result of this is that funds are being drawn from the school aid fund to create these classes, which impacts what neighborhood public schools are able to offer.

Your Taxes are Paying for HobbiesRead More »

The disappointing, soul-crushing cynicism about politicians and politics has left no oxygen and no apparent energy for discussion of what a good politician is and the importance of politicians in general to a healthy democracy.

If democracy is to survive, politicians are a necessary and required element of the system. The desire to serve the public good is a respectable and honorable goal which merits more credit than it receives. It is likely that there are fine examples of these type of folks in every one of our localities.

In Praise of PoliticiansRead More »

Our nation was founded in order to be free of foreign intervention in the affairs of its people and its political processes. In the Revolutionary War, patriots valiantly fought and died for the right to hold democratically determined elections. Our men and women have laid down their lives in wars since in order to preserve and protect our nation and our right to elect the citizens who will lead us. Russia’s intervention in our presidential election by hacking into private computers and then releasing stolen material to serve its own interests is at the very least criminal and quite possibly a new and wholly unacceptable act of modern war. President-elect Trump’s lassies-faire attitude on this matter so far is troubling. As the soon to be leader of this nation and its people, Mr. Trump should be outraged if any foreign power intruded in any American election.

Mr. Trump Must Hold Russia AccountableRead More »

Before leaving Lansing during the recent Lame Duck session of Michigan’s congress, the Michigan House and Senate passed legislation permitting wolf hunting and sent the package to Gov. Snyder’s office for his signature. The governor should not sign the bill.

Even though I did not agree with the outcome of the 2014 vote in which Michigan voters struck down wolf hunting in Michigan, I do not believe that legislators should then use their power to undermine a result that clearly showed the will of the electorate.

Legislative End-Run around Wolf Hunting is a Dangerous PrecedentRead More »

Stephen Henderson absolutely nails why Betsy DeVos should not be education secretary. Read the Detroit Free Press’ article, Betsy DeVos and the twilight of public education”, written by him.

One function of public schools is to assure the safety of children. The school choice movement, with its lack of oversight, makes a mockery of this aim. As a principal and now as superintendent I have seen the neglect unmonitored school choice makes possible.

Public schools are responsible for tracking attendance and for reporting suspected abuse. One way for lousy parents to fly under the radar of intervention on behalf of kids is to pull their children out of public school and to claim that they are home schooling them.

Home Schooling and Child NeglectRead More »