Dr. Tim Steinhauer Speaks, Again

The following letter to the editor was submitted by frequent commenter and Mt. Lebanon resident, Steve Diaz.

In the September 2011 edition of Mt. Lebanon Magazine, Dr. Tim Steinhauer, the Superintendent of the Mt. Lebanon School District, offers comments on the high school renovation project and more.  What Dr. Steinhauer has to say should be of interest to the residents of Mt. Lebanon.  Dr. Steinhauer's published comments include the following items of note:

1.  "We are currently in the redesign phase [of the high school renovation]."  Really?  What phase is that, Dr. Steinhauer, as no "redesign" was ever on the original project time line.  What he means is that the district will try to save its project from the recent bidding fiasco, but not go back and review whether it was properly scoped in the first place.  For example, he somehow manages to clarify by continuing that "..we don't see any significant loss in space...[e]verything that we had anticipated will be there,...[b]ut we've cut out about 30,000 square feet..."  Apart from the fact that his words directly contradict themselves on their face--how can you have "everything" anticipated if you cut 30,000 square feet out of the design, a very significant amount, unless you admit that there was that much excess in the original plan as bid.  Thank you for your clearly unintended admission, Dr. Steinhauer.  The student population of the school district is in the process of significant decline and we simply do not need more space.  One might at this point also ask, if the last plan (as bid) was styled "the minimum necessary for a 21st century education", don't we need some further explanation?  Will the administration and the school board stop hiding behind their fingers and recognize how "ridiculous" your position is under any rational evaluation (the quote is an adaptation of a characterization of the current political situation in the school district by citizen Josephine Posti, as attributed in the press)?

2.  "The board has set a maximum total cost of $113 [million].  So we're working hard to bring that cost back down."  So, in plain English, it sounds to me like the district plans on spending $113 million, regardless of what they can get for the money, and will nonetheless call the expenditure a "win".  Just as with the 30,000 square feet Dr. Steinhauer indirectly admits was not essential to the program benefits in his interview, one has to read between the lines for what is not said to find the meaning of Dr. Steinhauer's words.  Among the matters not addressed is why so much money would be spent for fiber-optic cables, when in the 21st century everything is migrating to wireless...there is another huge unnecessary cost for the lack of alternatives analysis still in the board's plans.  It seems clear that behind closed doors nothing has changed, the board and the administration yet do not hear the popular lack of confidence in the due diligence and decision making of those in control of the district.  The administration and the school board still do not hear people saying that the total cost has to come way down below 100 million, and/or there needs to be an election to give the public the final say on our schools and the massive economic impact that an over 100 million dollar project (and the taxes needed to sustain it) will have on our community. $113 million it is, though, because that is what they want and such a sum does not legally require an election.  But, be careful, project critics, to be "respectful" while you are being bulldozed.  Where is the respect for the obvious public sentiment in Mt. Lebanon either from Dr. Steinhauer or the board?  4,000 people have objected to the $113 million expenditure, Dr. Steinhauer and members of the school board, are you listening?  Rhetorical flourishes are no substitute for substantive change in response to public input.  Are you listening?  You have admitted that the project scope was too grand, so rather than cut "cost" to evade an election, why don't you consider the popular will as to the scope of the project--why can't you fix and maintain rather than trash and overspend?  Are you listening?

3.  On the topic of administrative reorganization, the superintendent states:  "...[O]ur venues of communication weren't always as strong as they should have been."  It is less than obvious what that peculiar syntax may mean, Dr. Steinhauer (ignoring your "Gorceyism"--what is a "venue of communication" anyway?).  In this part of the interview, Dr. Steinhauer goes on to say:  "I think the lines of communication, the lines of deployment of initiatives will be much cleaner, much more input from the grassroots level of the teachers."  So much is well said, I think, if he means that teachers should be allowed sufficient leeway to reach the students as they encounter them.  So long, that is, as there is accountability for performance and results, too.  It is never the child's fault if the curriculum fails---our falling academic rankings demonstrate that such deterioration takes place over years, meaning not because of the transitory student population, but because of the permanent administrative and teaching regime (have you seen "Waiting for Superman" yet, Dr. Steinhauer?).  While giving teachers accountable flexibility because he believes in "much more input from the grassroots level", Dr. Steinhauer and the school board seem to compartmentalize that value when it comes to paying any attention to the grassroots level of parents, voters and taxpayers on the subject of the renovation.  Our superintendent seems confused, if not hypocritical in his approach.

So, again, it is a fascinating interview for the insight it provides on the rationalization and politicization of our schools by the current administration and leadership.  There are more tidbits overtly stated, and even more yet to be gleaned from this timely interview.  I commend reading Dr. Steinhauer's multiple messages to the citizens of Mt. Lebanon as part of the continuing effort to comprehend "the riddle inside the mystery wrapped in an enigma" that is the policy of our school district (and the original quote is from Winston Churchill for those of you may wish to know the source of my adapted, but borrowed, phrase).

From behind my reading glasses.  Steve Diaz.