Attached is a letter I sent to our School Board expressing my concern with the 0.54 mill tax increase recommended by Dr. Steinhauer.
Mt. Lebanon School District has historically prepared budgets that produce significant (and at times substantial) surpluses, and yet continues to raise our taxes.
Enough is enough.
In addition to my letter, I have attached a file, which includes several years of budget summaries with actual, audited results back to the 2002-2003 school year. These historical records support my observation of year-over-year budget surpluses.
It is my belief, next year’s increase could easily be limited to 0.30 mills, if not lower; and most importantly, without impacting a single educational program.
It appears next Monday, May 19, our Board intends to approve yet another unnecessary tax increase. If, after reviewing this information, you believe this unwarranted tax increase deserves further review, please contact our School Board.
Our School Board may be contacted by e-mail using this address: schoolboard@mtlsd.net
Please feel free to forward this e-mail and attachments to friends and neighbors who may be concerned, as I am, with our ever growing and unsustainable tax burden.
Regards,
Bill Matthews
26 comments:
Newcomers, check out 55 Standish. Last year, this guy received a 7.5% salary increase along with an early bird contract. Our finance director, who double counts, moved out of Mt. Lebanon just before the 10.5% increase in 2010.
While we are worried about our commissioners, these clowns are robbing us blind.
Elaine
The District's "padding" of the budget (i.e. underestimating certain line item revenues and/or overestimating selected line item expenses) has been suspected by many and known but by a few for years and years. The "budget-to-budget" technique is another deceptive way to hide the truth.
Mr. Matthews, using District documents he is sharing, has exposed the scam. Using this multi year evidence, perform your own analyses and see what you can find.
Here is my letter:
School Board Directors,
It is that time of year to express my disappointment with you. Just when I think it can't get worse, you figure out a way to make that happen.
In the "old days," you used to have an Audit and Finance Committee. Gone
In the "old days," you used to have a Budget Forum. Gone
In the "old days," you used to publish a Potential Cost Reduction List. Gone
In the "old days," you used to publish a partial Potential Cost Reduction List. Gone
In the "old days," you didn't resort to double counting, or at least you were never caught. Gone
In the "old days," you used to try to get concessions from the unions. Gone
I am not a big fan of the president of the Commission, but she appears to be getting more heat than you are. YOU are a bigger threat to this community than she will ever be.
Elaine Gillen
How about this 2:55?
According to Matthews numbers the school expenditures for 2002-03 were
$55.6 million
Proposed expenditures for 2013-14 expenditures are $83.1 million.
An increase in spending of $27.5 million. An average yearly increase of $2.5 million.
What makes this more troublesome is the fact that the number of students being educated has been dropping consistently.
In 2012, the Allegheny Institute wrote: "Based on the audited financial report available on the District’s website, from 2002 through 2011 enrollment fell from 5,616 to 5,268 (-6%). Over the same period full-time equivalent employee headcount rose 3.5 percent. The categories of supervisory and student services personnel were both up 16 percent while instruction and support/administration are up 2.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Astonishingly, the audited data show fringe benefits have jumped from $6.4 million to $13.9 million (114%) during the 2002-11 period, pushing the ratio of fringe benefits to salaries in the District from 20 percent to 34 percent in 2011. If the $1 million grievance settlement is awarded the fringe benefits to salaries ratio will almost certainly rise even further. Total outlays climbed 42 percent over the period, boosting per pupil expenditures by 52 percent. Note that from 2006 to 2011, SAT scores were flat, although still well above state and national averages."
http://bloglebo.blogspot.com/2012/03/allegheny-institute-examines-mt-lebanon.html?m=1
They also write: "Cutting costs should be a top priority. There is always a way to find cost reductions if one looks hard enough. Granted, union contracts and state laws can make that difficult in some areas, but if a 4 percent spending reduction cannot be found, then the Board is not trying very hard."
As the first commenter shows us... the district isn't trying very hard to cut cost. Buying a $74,000 trophy case doesn't seem like a very good way to save money in the budget for starters. Building a catherdral ceiling cafeteria without tables and chairs is another bad idea!
Matthews is right in his demand!
Elaine, regarding which president might be a greater threat — "birds of a feather-flock together".
Within houses of each other.
Elaine
Bill: This is the most important correspondence our school board has received in years. It is important for the community to be heard on the abuse of taxing authority. I support your efforts and hope that the members of the school board, especially Messrs. Remely and Kubit who are self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives, will follow your lead and urge their colleagues on the board to follow your common sense-based and socially responsible lead. While I have family commitments that may make it impossible to attend, I certainly support your message and will make every effort to attend the meeting to demonstrate that support.
Thank you for your reliable commitment to the welfare of this community and all of its residents.
Regards. Steve Diaz
Mr. Matthews makes a very reasonable suggestion, and backs it up with the District's own data.
I have written to the MLSB expressing my support of his proposal. I also CC'd Mr. Miller and Mr. Smith, as I think it is important for our state representatives to know that, while the Board seems to get their attention, the Board does not represent all residents of this town.
RG
I would be very interested in hearing from Dan Miller and Matt Smith on this issue before I vote for them again.
5:47 Don't hold your breath! Both are OWNED by the Teachers union and will make sure that teachers received not only what they want but more. When will people be ready to DEMAND an outside audit. When will a "certain" former School Board member woman-UP and admit to the scam of the High School Project?
7:07 Aren't there more regular people than teachers voting?
7:44 just 8 votes if memory serves separated winner Posti from loser Silhol.
Any one ever involved in election campaigning will tell you they don't go after individual voters.
They don't care about you, they care about blocks of voters.
Get out the union rank and file. Get out women/moms. Good after the faster growing segment of the population-hispanics. Go after voting age college students.
Once it is establish which group you can capture... start promising them the world. Equal pay, free birth control, better schools etc., etc.
But never say you'll reform something like assessments, taxation.
7:44 P M, Regular voters are like sheep and vote for union candidates. Look at the teacher/union reps on the packed board.
Mr. Matthews does his homework and his quality work makes the board look silly, but they do what they want to do just like the commission, they just ignore input - the Super goes along with the fudged figures.
9:26 In my experience, the board, like the commission, wonders "does s/he have support" after material is presented to them. If you demonstrate that you do, they'll be more likely to respond favorably. Obviously, this isn't a guarantee, but it sure wouldn't hurt.
this is all interesting, but how many thousands signed the petition against the new high school fiasco, and that was ignored as if it never existed....this is not a democracy, this is a plutocracy.....
Leave a comment here and lets see if the Post Gazette dugs deeper.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2014/05/15/Mt-Lebanon-residents-criticize-newcomers-tax-turf-project-for-fields/stories/201405150176
Could someone PLEASE explain how houses on Hoodridge are assessed? How can you purchase a large stone home for $750,000 but only be assessed at $350,000? Many are assessed at half of what they paid for them. I did noticed that several appealed in 2013 and must have had their assessments reduced back down. Is this a "Special" street of some sorts?
10:23, your comment makes no sense. Are you a newcomer?
7:51 am. Sorry - I am a relative newcomer. The board finds out if you have support when you bring up something illegal and hazardous in the district that you want them to address. That's after the superintendent ignores your concerns and redirects your emails to his PR rep.
6:42 AM. a history of Dr.'s, lawyers, newspaper exec's, politicians, business exec's, etc. of both political parties. Not unusual and similar to "The Manor" and a couple of other small enclaves like Forest Glen that are grossly under assessed.
The District will undoubtedly adduce the fact that some of its costs are being driven by mandated expenses, such as PSERS (Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System), and the District would be correct.
I think most of us are aware that teachers (covered by PSERS) enjoy top-shelf retirement benefits, but the actual "numbers" have to be seen to be appreciated. The Manhattan Institute's Center for State and Local Leadership* has a Public Sector Pension Calculator that allows you to view benefits from any of the 50 states, or to compare benefits amongst several states. Here is a sample from Pennsylvania, using the following information:
PSERS Class T-CI (A Class T-C member who enrolled in PSERS before July 22, 1983, has a contribution rate of 5.25 percent**), teacher, 40 years of service, retiring at age 65, $95,000 final average salary:
Your Pension Benefit
Monthly: $6,333
Annual: $76,000
Your Lifetime Annuity
The amount of cash you would need at the same retirement age to yield the same annual income as this public pension.
Male: $1,148,852
Female: $1,258,077
Keep in mind that this is just the pension component of a public employee's retirement benefits, and does not medical or federal benefits. Remember, PSERS benefits are ultimately funded by producers who pay the actual freight. Public employees will protest that they "pay taxes too," but their tax payments are more accurately "reimbursements" to the pool of tax money out of which their salaries and benefits are drawn. Only producers pay actual taxes. (If you don't believe this ask yourself where the money would come from if everybody in Pennsylvania worked for the state!)
Pennsylvania needs pension reform, but the public employee unions are very strong and it is unlikely that pension reform will happen any time soon - despite Pennsylvania's escalating deficit.
*Thanks to the REASON FOUNDATION for supplying this information
**From the PSERS website
Correction...
"Keep in mind that this is just the pension component of a public employee's retirement benefits, and does not medical or federal benefits" should read "Keep in mind that this is just the pension component of a public employee's retirement benefits, and does not include medical or federal benefits."
Richard, the numbers on what our future holds regarding covering the costs of PSERS are frightening.
Coupled with this from The Pittsburgh Business Times and one just wants to scream.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013, 8:08am EDT
ACT report shows students unprepared for college
Justine Coyne Pittsburgh Business Times
"The majority of high school graduates are ill-prepared for success in college or their career, according to ACT's latest yearly report released Wednesday."
"In Pennsylvania, about 18 percent of students took the ACT, with students faring better than the national average on all four subjects, with 77 percent reaching benchmarks in Pennsylvania for English compared to 64 percent nationally; 57 percent compared to 44 percent in reading; 61 percent compared to 44 percent in mathematics; and 47 percent compared to 36 percent in science. Overall, 38 percent of students in Pennsylvania met the benchmarks for all four subjects, compared to only 26 percent nationally."
http://m.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2013/08/act-report-shows-students-unprepared.html?ana=e_pit_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2013-08-21&u=riqE8PfDEY6K8MB%2FrEpCUzvEWgD&t=1377387364&r=full
It would be interesting to run the employment TOTAL cost as we run into contract negotiations.
http://theeducationteam.com/employee-cost-calculator.html
Addendum to 3:59 comment.
Meant to say it would be interesting to run a total employee cost on individuals.
Say a first year teacher, or 10 year teacher, a athletic director, Capital Campaign Chairman or top level administrator!
The agenda for Monday's meeting has been posted. I see that Bill Matthews has requested to speak at the school board meeting.
Bill, thank you for all the time that you have invested in this. I hope that the school board and administration treat you respectfully and listen to your words instead of watching the time clock. I wrote my letter to the school board and encourage others to do so, as well. There is still time, Folks. schoolboard@mtlsd.net
Elaine
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