Thanks to the reader who sent this to me today.
Hmmmm, they weren't concerned enough not to increase salaries (and therefore PSERs obligations), accept additional vacation time, spend $13,000+ suing taxpayers so they could proceed with a $113 million Taj Mahal or hire $1,000/day consultants.
State Budget Cuts Slice Local Education - Upper St. Clair, PA Patch
“You might think we could raise these funds locally, but this is made almost impossible by the limitation on real estate revenue from Act 1 of 2006 and Act 25 of 2011," said Dr. Timothy Steinhauer, superintendent of Mt. Lebanon School District. "It is concerning to us that as the state reduces its funding to schools. It places additional restrictions on schools so we cannot find revenues locally to pay for mandated services.”
The board is crying about Corbett's cuts to education and the papers are believing their tears. But take a look at the state contribution to district revenue in the MTLSB 2011 budget.
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/stuff/final201112.pdf
State:
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/stuff/final201112.pdf
State:
2009-10 - $11,668,913 (audited)
2010-11 - $13,614,495 (final budget)
2011-12 - $12,919,543 (final budget) [so even if Corbett did cut the budgeted amount by $1 million, it is still more than '09-10]
Federal:
2009-10: $1,693,172 (audited)
2010-11: $1,250,751 (final budget)
Even if Corbett cut $1 million, state money is still more than the previous year. Where you see a real cut is from the Feds. which the teachers' union and PSBA won't criticize.
2010-11 - $13,614,495 (final budget)
2011-12 - $12,919,543 (final budget) [so even if Corbett did cut the budgeted amount by $1 million, it is still more than '09-10]
Federal:
2009-10: $1,693,172 (audited)
2010-11: $1,250,751 (final budget)
Even if Corbett cut $1 million, state money is still more than the previous year. Where you see a real cut is from the Feds. which the teachers' union and PSBA won't criticize.
10 comments:
Mr. Steinhauer, please tell us exactly where you suggest the state or federal government find additional money to send your way?
Dick Saunders
If the District can't better manage expenses the HS bonds will default and the State subsidy will be paid to the bond trustee to give to the bondholders.
Dr. Steinhauer, how many jobs will you have to cut to make up for the lack of subsidy?
How many folks will loose healthcare?
How many classes will be cut from the curriculum?
Will ungraded Spanish classes disappear from the elementary schools?
How big will class sizes be?
How many buildings will you close?
How long do you think it will take the signers of the Petition to show up at a Board meeting and ask for your resignation, or at least a large salary cut?
Let's look at Lancaster School District's finances for just a peak at what could happen:
"Lancaster School District Pa. Financial Condition
2012-13 “First Look” Assumptions
• No increase in state funding
• 2% increase in payrolls
– Local Education Assoc. Negotiations in progress
• 41% INCREASE IN PENSION CONTRIBUTION
• 8% increase in healthcare
• ACT 1 index fully utilized
• 2% increase in other expenses
• Project Budget Shortfall- ($5,457,479)
• Without Tax Increase – ($6,857,479)
Preliminary Recommendations to Offset the Deficit
– ACT 1 Index – 2.4% or $1.4 Million
– Fund Balance Utilization - $3.0 Million
– Additional Reductions - $2.5 Million"
Oh! I hear USC has impending budget problems too.
Superintendent Steinhauer is quoted saying we will cut mandated programs and Superintendent O'Toole says we need an enrollment decline to cut the budget.
Notice how the Upper St. Clair directors disagree with both Superintendents in the following article from Upper St Clair Patch:
"Frustrated and worried looks appeared on the faces of the Upper St. Clair school directors on Monday night as Superintendent Patrick O'Toole presented 2012-13 preliminary budget data.
Pennsylvania law will only allow the school board to raise taxes by .33 mills—less than what the district was anticipating in October. As operating now, that would be the equivalent to a nearly $2.8 million budget deficit.
If the school board makes a preliminary budget available to the public by Jan. 5, they can apply for an exception that could allow the district to raise taxes by up to .82 mills. However, the district would still be facing a $1.5 million shortfall by raising taxes by .82 mills alone.
One of the district's challenges is fulfilling its PSERS obligations, which is the pension system for school retirees. In 2012-13, the district will have to pay $3.5 million to PSERS. The state will later reimburse the district half of the payment. In 2015-16, the payment will jump to $8.6 million.
Dr. O'Toole offered some budget strategies and combinations to balance the budget. He said the board could reduce all budget areas by $1.5 million, assuming a tax increase of .82 mills. The board also has the option of reducing equipment and technology investments and eliminating programs and staff.
More than half of the district's expenses are staff salaries. The average salary for the district's 300 teachers, without benefits, is $75,000 per teacher.
Dr. O'Toole said there will be five retirements next year—positions that may not be filled. He also reminded school directors that the district cannot fire teachers due to tough economic times. The only way to eliminate teachers is to have an enrollment drop, which won't be the case for Upper St. Clair School District, or by getting rid of programs.
"These are going to be difficult, painful cuts, but at some point we have to evaluate what we no longer can afford," Dr. O'Toole said.
"When anyone looks at these numbers, they're dismayed to say the least. The only way to balance the budget as I see it is to make significant staffing decreases," said Louis Piconi, school director.
Piconi's term as school director will expire in December, but he warned the other directors that the future budgets look no better.
"Just balancing the budget this year is not enough," he said.
"There's a reason our kids do so well on tests. There's a reason we have national merits...I would like to see how the programs impact student learning. And those aren't numbers," said Barbara Bolas, school director. "The only way is to cut programs, that is what the state has handed down to us."
"I feel like we've already cut to the bone," said Amy Billerbeck, school director.
Rebecca Stern challenged the board and administrators to think creatively. She suggested looking at cutting back school days, increasing some class sizes and reducing bus stops.
"If there's a good thing, it's that we have board members and administrators who work well together and do the best we can to serve our community," Stern said
The budget will be discussed again at the next school board meeting on Monday, Nov. 28"
There is an editorial in the 11/22/11 issue of The Almanac: "School districts must cut back on spending ."
Sorry Dr. Steinhauer that the title wasn't - Send School Districts More Money. Unfortunately, the well's dry and the money tree's bare. Life's tough sometimes!
Dick Saunders
These local school boards were told by reputable economists some years ago that unless they reined in spending they would face severe budget problems in the near future - and the near future is now. The response was derision, followed by "business as usual," with the confidence that the taxpayer would foot any and all bills. To compound the problem, some districts started on elaborate building projects for a variety of reasons, including a small increase in students. But when one studies the numbers one sees that these increases are not uniform, and an increase in student population in Upper St. Clair, for example, does not mean that all school districts in Allegheny County are seeing increases in their student populations. In fact, most of USC's increase is due to lateral moves of younger families into the Township from adjacent communities. (The predicted rise in Mt. Lebanon students, voiced by at least one member on our board, is likely an aberration and does not presage a "baby boom.") The inconvenient truth is that our region, Allegheny County, has lost population (1,223,348, a decrease of 4.6% from the 2000 census, and of which only 5.2% are under five years of age! - see the 2010 census), does not have the kind of economic vitality to attract people into it from other parts of Pennsylvania or other states, and is getting "older" by the day - not exactly a recipe for vigorous tax receipts. Yet in the face of these facts local school boards operate as if none of this matters. (Note: Nobel Economist Vernon Smith predicts that the Federal Government will appeal to inflation to bring its massive Greek-style debt into line; a move with disastrous effects for States and local governments, including school districts.)
Frankly, I can't blame local school boards for all of their problems. Much of what they face is as the result of actions taken by the Commonwealth, the PSBA, and the teachers' unions in bygone years. But much of it is their own fault, too; especially when it comes to an unwillingness to abandon socialistic methods of education delivery.
In the end the ultimate responsibility for our schools and their financial plight belongs to - us, "We the People," who insist on the kinds of schools we knew as kids, and who continue to elect (or ignore) the same kinds of "Norman Thomas" types to our local school boards.
Mr. Gideon, The schools are run for the benefit of the employees; the kids are secondary.
John Ewing
From Bloglebo:
"Thursday, August 18, 2011
Trib: Mt. Lebanon superintendent to get 3.5% raise posted by Joe Polk at 9:50 AM /
The Mt. Lebanon school board has unanimously approved a 3.5 percent pay raise for Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer, citing his work holding the line on taxes, reorganizing the district's administration and guiding the high school renovation project through its redesign.
Steinhauer's yearly salary increased from $146,300 to $151,420, retroactive to July 1, district spokeswoman Cissy Bowman said. The board on Monday also approved increasing his vacation days from 20 to 25, and agreed that he could be paid for up to 15 vacation days if they went unused at the end of each year."
Seems to make Dr. Steinhaer's comment regarding state funding: "It places additional restrictions on schools so we cannot find revenues locally to pay for mandated services.” a bit shallow.
Dick Saunders
Mr. Gideon, you and I are usually on the same page. I would really appreciate your take on the "Stand Up For Public Education" video available on Mrs. Posti's blog.
This is a fairly professional piece, so I'm wondering... who produced it... for how much... and more importantly why?
School boards don't need us to stand up for education! They can pretty much do as they please - evidenced by the dismissal of Superintendent Sable and the lack of a voter referendum after the HS bid exceeded the Act 34 limit.
So whom benefits by this PR gimmick. School boards? Why, they're unpaid volunteers supposedly watching out for the interest of their constituents (that includes the kids).
This clamoring for more state money and campaign against charter schools/vouchers just seems disingenuous to me.
Dick Saunders
Mr. Saunders:
When I go to Mrs. Posti's Blog I get nothing but a blank screen, so I'll have to defer any comments on the video posted there until later; but if it's the same thing as was screened by the Mt. Lebanon School Board during its last meeting I did hear the audio from it, contained within a podcast on Lebo Citizens. It is well done, as far as I can tell; of course, if you have the money you can buy a lot of good production.
As is the case with all propaganda, the target audience isn't the "true believers," except if the TB's are wavering, nor the people on the "other side," who will discount the argument out-of-hand; but rather those people who are "on the fence." (By the way, the word "propaganda" is not necessarily a negative word - any message whose intent is to bolster a cause is "propaganda.")
Your questions, however, do remind me of when I was researching the question of whether Charter Public Schools were actually "public schools," and reading, on Pennsylvania's own Department of Education web site, that, yes, they are, and they are subject to the same rules and regulations as are "normal" public schools. I also recall someone at a MLSB meeting say that "..contrary to what they are telling us, Charter schools are not free." Well - neither are traditional public schools! The concept of a "free public school education" is largely a myth. There is no "free lunch," and there is no free public education.
What has our District, the PSBA, and the various teachers' unions across Pennsylvania worried is the argument that taxpayer money for education should attach follow the child, and not the child's ZIP code; an argument that is entirely rational and persuasive. Since money is power, attaching education funds to the child instead of his (or her) school district empowers the child's parents, and not the civil servants hired to educate him. And it is this fear that gives us productions such as "Stand Up for Pubic Education." By the way, a better title for what I heard on the podcast might be "Stand Up for Socialism."
Richard, yes it is the same ideo I believe.
I might not go as far as retitling it "Stand Up for Socialism". I'd accept "Protect The Status Quo".
Dick Saunders
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