Perhaps raging paranoia?  Roswell, New Mexico and grassy knoll kind of paranoia?  Why else would someone like Rob Glass, Superintendent of the Bloomfield Hills Schools say, “I’ve never considered myself a conspiracy theorist – until now.”? 

Why else indeed…

Perhaps for the same reason Oakland Schools Superintendent, Dr. Vickie Markavitch told a crowd at Royal Oak Middle School, “Unbelievable things are happening in Lansing.”

Or for the same reason Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Senate Democratic leader, issued this press release, “Last week, we learned of Gov. Snyder’s proposal to dismantle Michigan’s public education system and replace it with a voucher plan that favors for-profit corporations operating our schools instead.  It would hand over our tax dollars to out-of-state companies with little or no oversight, allowing them to make decisions based on what’s profitable instead of what’s best for our students.”

Or why the Detroit Free Press referred to this year’s lame duck session as, “a devil’s cauldron, filled with a steaming heap of cowardly and ill-thought-out legislation that wouldn’t have a prayer of passing if citizens (or even lawmakers) were paying attention….with the Republican majorities of both chambers weighing serious, sweeping structural changes to public education in a hurried and haphazard fashion.”

Or why our very own, Dr. Tresa Zumsteg, Rochester Community Schools Interim Superintendent, an “alarmist” in her own right, has urged us to come to Rochester High School, this Monday, December 3 at 4:00p.m. or 6:30p.m. to get informed about the aforementioned, ahem, legislation.

Yep, just why these folks are all worked up is a real head-scratcher.  After all, Rochester schools have nothing to lose if this legislation passes.  Our graduation rate is “only” 93.14% and “only” 95% of those graduates attend post secondary schools.  Our scores are “only” in the top 10% of the districts participating in state assessments. If the pending legislation dismantles and defunds the Rochester public schools, we won’t be out much.  And neither will our real estate values.

Nope.  The sky seems to be intact and fully functioning. But maybe I will head over to Rochester High this Monday…

Because one thing I’d hate to be called more than “paranoid” is “naive”.