James Cannon writes

My name is James Cannon.  I grew up in Mt. Lebanon and graduated from the high school in 1987. I have a BA in Communication. I served on active duty in the Marine Corps, working in communications (the technical sort), and in the US Army Reserve in a psychological operations company. Currently, I am a government affairs manager for Range Resources, a Fortune 500 gas drilling company locally headquartered in Canonsburg. For the last two years, in that position, I have been responsible for assisting local governments craft ordinances and regulations related to drilling in their townships. That experience has included working with engineers to estimate construction costs for drilling pads, speaking with road engineers regarding repairs and rebuilding roads and bridges, countless discussions with township solicitors to reach amenable solutions with respect to ordinance provisions and, most importantly, conveying all those different aspects to the residents living in those affected areas. The most important part of my job, on all levels, is building relationships. And that is something I intend to do with members of our community.

In any given situation involving multiple, equal  people with varied opinions, the group dynamic ebbs and flows based on the task at hand. I've been in many situations over the years in which mine was not the only opinion or input but just one of many. Thus, I am adept at recognizing the value each person assigns to their own thoughts, and attempt to , when I disagree with their statements, glean some value no matter how ardent my objections may be. The goal with the Board should be working toward solutions that will benefit the entire community.  That means listening to all sides of the issue, weighing the various arguments and ultimately casting a vote based on the facts.

It's no secret that I (along with many in the community) have been opposed to the high school renovation as currently proposed.  First, "renovation" is a misnomer. I would prefer we refer to the project as the high school rebuild since it's more accurate. Second, the entire project has been mishandled, mismanaged and misdirected from the beginning. To be clear, our high school needs some work. I am not opposed to a measured and incremental approach to upgrading some of the facilities, performing necessary maintenance and ensuring Mt. Lebanon's high school students have a safe and positive environment in which to learn. Unfortunately, the current approach is a scorched earth policy of 'build at any cost' regardless of the consequences (the latest approach is a "build now--see what the building is later" stance as demonstrated by a recently rejected right-to-know request pertaining to the latest plans). The reality is, the school district still has unpaid debt from the elementary school upgrades, pensions are going to come due soon and the district is projected to lose a large percentage of students by 2020. Yet the residents are going to be forced to pay even more in taxes. It is simply not realistic nor sustainable. I strongly favor the approach taken by Peter's Township, which is to put the high school project up for a vote. That will be the final determination of what level of support for the project actually exists. In essence, do residents support huge tax increases or don't they?

Vouchers are an interesting notion but I have not yet arrived at a final opinion. They may be a creative and positive way to generate revenue for the school district (average of $8000 per child X 100 kids = $800,000 per year).  But it's important for residents to educate themselves and make their opinions known. The school board is accountable to the residents and the members should act as administrators of community sentiment, not autocrats who make decisions in a vacuum.

Voters have a choice on Tuesday. Either endorse the status quo and face dire consequences in just a few short years. Or make a decision to stand up for yourself, your neighbor and the community, and authorize five newcomers to right the course we're on. Rudy Bies, Charlotte Stephenson, Paula Bongiorno and Joseph Wertheim and I are all stepping up because we believe in doing what's right for the community. Collectively, we are making a stand not for us but for all residents. We will not be bullied, we will not be intimidated and we will not be silenced. We are asking all of Mt. Lebanon to stand with us to take back our township.