Lebo Citizens: Trouble in Paradise?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Trouble in Paradise?

I heard that the majority of PTA Council resigned some time this week. Can anyone confirm this? I find it interesting since I published these two comments on a previous thread.

Does Ms. Stephenson realize that PA PTA cleared PTA of any wrongdoing in regards to the election? Maybe the PTA isn't as evil as she believes it is.

January 10, 2012 7:17 PM

****

7:17 - I can't let this go - you know as well as I do that no such decision has been made. It's time to stop this and get the PTA house in order for those of us who really want to do positive things and bring credibility back to our organization. Let those members who acted poorly and damaged our reputation move on so the rest of us can do positive things in the PTA.

Signed,

A disgusted PTA member

January 10, 2012 11:20 PM

Update: January 11, 2012 3:45 PM PTA Council Resignation Letter

86 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hint...hint Sheryl Cohen.; January 11, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Anonymous said...: Yes it is true. Four resigned but not the ones who are the problem.
-another disgusted PTA member; January 11, 2012 at 2:52 PM
Anonymous said...: So the scum remains?
If true, why not quit PTA in protest?; January 11, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: Here is the list of Council, from the District website.
http://mtlsd.org/district/districtpta/officers.asp
Elaine; January 11, 2012 at 3:38 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: Resignation letter is going up.
Elaine; January 11, 2012 at 3:43 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: This is a real tragedy.
Elaine; January 11, 2012 at 3:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Do not forget that it is the P-arent T-eacher Association.
Did teachers (or their union) and therefore the administration play a significant role in the political email/Zellers letter in an effort to keep the HS project intact.
And insure a compliant board.; January 11, 2012 at 3:54 PM
Anonymous said...: We don't see Karen Morris or Sheryl Cohen's name on the resignation list! We lost good members and the pigs remain.; January 11, 2012 at 4:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Of course we don't see Cohen's name on the resignation list. Posti's campaign donations in the last election were sent to Cohen's home address.Remember, Posti whined that nasty letters should not be sent before she was elected.; January 11, 2012 at 4:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Dr. Steinhauer,
Your support should be withdrawn from this organization before your image is stained.; January 11, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Anonymous said...: While I agree the actions by select members of the PTA were inexcusable and they should step down, I don't think calling them pigs is necessary.
Making an allusion to the group and it's actions in such terms is a quick an easy way to define them, they aren't pigs.
Misdirected, misguided sure, but pigs no. I'll bet they believed they had the righteous intentions.
Hope they understand How they made the community more disagreeable. Now is the time to them show how a community really should behave.
Let's be better than that which we criticize.; January 11, 2012 at 4:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Call them wolves if you prefer, we have a pack of them!; January 11, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Anonymous said...: In sheep's clothing; January 11, 2012 at 5:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Dear Ms. Guided, Ms. Informed and Wrong,
It might be time to consider resigning. THe truth will come out, whether you are on PTA or you are a School Board Director. Think about it. You could save yourself some embarrassment and we could start to heal. Do it for the children.; January 11, 2012 at 6:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Perhaps I missed it, but I'm assuming that there is a literary allusion somewhere about pigs or scum, seeing as members of the PTA were both called that...and we all know that none of the upstanding commenters here would call anyone such names.; January 11, 2012 at 7:06 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: What part of four out of seven PTA Council members resigning do you not understand?
Elaine; January 11, 2012 at 7:11 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 7:06 no literally allusion that I can remember, but I suppose I could find a few for someone that likes to fan the flames of discontent!; January 11, 2012 at 7:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon7:06 apparently you only have a problem with name calling. Lying is OK in your book or is there really evidence of the PA PTA clearing our local PTA of any wrongdoing?; January 11, 2012 at 7:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 7:53, where did the other anonymous poster say that he/she agreed with the PTA members that wrote the letter. Or that he/she condoned lying? As I read it, it was simply calling out the one sided name calling that is accepted on this site.; January 11, 2012 at 9:45 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: OK, now that everyone understands that one-sided name calling is accepted on this site, as noted by the other-sided name calling, can we get that information on the PA PTA clearing our PTA of any wrong doing in regard to the election?
Elaine; January 11, 2012 at 10:12 PM
Anonymous said...: http://www.papta.org/Page/13

It would surprise me based on the info in the above link.
Maybe a quick call to the PA PTA office would clear things up?; January 11, 2012 at 10:25 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: Oh my!
Elaine; January 11, 2012 at 10:31 PM
Anonymous said...: It is unfortunate that these capable women felt a need to resign their voluntary positions. Having known one of them through a friendship between our sons, I respect her, as she is a fantastic selfless mother and advocate for kids.

I know that it is not easy to stand up for what you believe, especially within a culture of bullying behavior, but sometimes opting out demonstrates stronger leadership and values than others who simply maintain the status quo.

-Charlotte Stephenson; January 11, 2012 at 11:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 9:45 you write: "As I read it, it was simply calling out the one sided name calling that is accepted on this site."

You right - it was SIMPLY CALLING OUT!

NO questioning whether there was an actual release from the PA PTA!

NO inquiry as to why someone would say there was, if there wasn't!

NO questioning on why the local PTA engaged in an activity that is against PTA Policy!

NO question as to what is the penalty for breaking the rules.

Only a "calling out" of their neighbors who don't like the way things are being run.

You're right 9:45, it was SIMPLE!
So roundabout I suppose you're basically calling Anon 7:06 a SIMPLETON. Remember, its not nice calling people names!

From Merion-Webster dictionary:
SIMPLE
"c : not socially or culturally sophisticated"

definition of simpleton by the Free Online ...

sim·ple·ton (s m p l-t n). n. A person who is felt to be deficient in judgment, good sense, or intelligence; a fool.; January 11, 2012 at 11:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks for reminded us Charlotte. Those four certainly are fine examples of how to "disagree without being disagreeable!"; January 11, 2012 at 11:30 PM
Anonymous said...: So this is the stink. From the website noted above:

The organization or members in their official capacities shall not, directly or indirectly, participate or intervene (in any way, including the publishing or distributing of statements) in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office, or devote more than an insubstantial part of its activities to attempting to influence legislation by propaganda or otherwise.

What is boils down to is that it is difficult to prove that the PTA sent these emails in their "official capacity".

However, having been involved in the elections over the last handful of cycles I can tell you for sure that PTA presidents have used PTA email lists to advocate their personal positions of support of candidates and issues.

Funny, however, that Mrs. Cohen, as dysfunctional as the PTA has been, does not have her fingerprints on this latest email campaign. Birks and Wolowski used their email lists to bully people about elections, issues, and board leadership votes. I haven't seen that same level of involvement by Cohen.

No matter, history has shown that the Mt. Lebanon PTA leadership can't read and understand the simple rules as outlined above. It's unfortunate because their are many parents who just want to do good by their kids without getting political. Any parent who took on organizing lunchtime clubs for the elementary school can tell you that.; January 12, 2012 at 6:23 AM
Anonymous said...: 6:23 What made the four resign?; January 12, 2012 at 8:29 AM
Lebo Citizens said...: Didn't we see Birks and Posti show that type of behavior at the Act 34 Hearing? I thought the PTA condoned bullying.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 8:29 AM
Lebo Citizens said...: When ya got nothin' Divert. Divert. Divert.

Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 8:45 AM
Anonymous said...: The resignation letter was dated Jan. 8. Mrs Posti did not preside at the board meeting of Jan. 9. Any connection?; January 12, 2012 at 9:09 AM
Anonymous said...: Readers may want to check this link is from the official state PTA guidelines:

http://www.papta.org/Page/13; January 12, 2012 at 9:12 AM
Anonymous said...: Furthermore, IRS regulations prohibit 501 c 3 organizations from engaging in certain political activities. Perhaps the council PTA & any other individual Mt Lebanon school PTA could lose their tax exempt status if these rules were broken.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=163395,00.html; January 12, 2012 at 9:28 AM
Anonymous said...: http://masspta.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=26

This article clearly states what activities are allowed/not allowed under IRS regulations. Maybe someone with more insight into the situation can determine if the Lebo activities were allowed or not allowed.; January 12, 2012 at 9:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Anon 8:28

Having in the past (not recently) talked to just one of the people that resigned, I can say that there has been frustration with this type of activity for years.

Think of it this way. In a Union shop like the United Auto Workers, they send in all sorts of political donations to Democrat candidates. What happens if you, as a UAW member, dislike the fact that your dues are going to fund candidates you don't like? In the UAW you can't leave if you want to keep your job.

These people who resigned at the PTA I suspect got tired of the political motives and machinations of the leadership and decided they did not want their names associated with that type of behavior.

At the very least I hope the publicity surrounding this move will open the eyes of some of the PTA members to local politics in MtL. Often they follow the lead of the PTA leadership in voting for candidates thinking that they must be right because they are in it "for the kids". However, as the evidence mounts, it appears they have been in it for themselves all along.

And yeah, the name calling has got to stop. This blog should be better than that if you want to be taken seriously.

It's frustrating because I am FOR anonymous comments to get discussion going, but that policy allows for faceless name calling at the same time.; January 12, 2012 at 10:04 AM
Richard Gideon said...: Whether one feels that the Mt. Lebanon PTA is the victim of poor judgment on the part of one or two of its members, or that the entire organization is politically motivated and therefore in violation of both tax laws and its own by-laws, the fact of the matter is that this whole sordid incident, stemming from the infamous "Bill Zellers" E-mail, was totally avoidable; and the blame for it is properly assigned to the Mt. Lebanon School Board.

Up until the General Election, with its last minute introduction of write-in candidates, residents were told repeatedly that opposition to the board's new high school was limited to only a few, rather vocal, people, and that the majority of the polity supported both the board and tax increases. I, along with others, challenged the board, both in E-mail messages to the directors and in postings on various local Blogs, to put this theory to the test by the simple expedient of placing the issue before the voters in a referendum. If the board believed it had the kind of support it claimed - and in light of the election results its supporters have loudly said, "See, we told you so!" - it should not have feared such a move, but embraced it with enthusiasm. Then instead of placing a stripped down version of its new edifice before the public it might have asked for and received permission to spend a lot more money for what it really wanted. Instead, the board, through its supporters, decided that participating in a coward's form of warfare, where the ends justify the means, was more expedient than taking the principled and moral route, and thus have demonstrated that they are trying to maintain a contradiction - that the people are with them, but they don't trust the people because the people might actually not be with them. As Ayn Rand puts it, "A contradiction cannot exist. To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one's thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one's mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality."

History has shown the sorry outcome when "progressives" who feel they possess the qualifications to do "the greatest good for the greatest number" gain power. I have not, and will not, take any personal shots at anyone on the Mt. Lebanon School Board or on the PTA. I believe that these are not evil people; but I also believe that they are "progressive" people who are "true believers" in their own righteousness; and that, ironically, may be worse for the polity. It is that attitude, more than the arrogance of the board and its supporters, to which I and many other Mt. Lebanon residents object.; January 12, 2012 at 11:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Anon 10:04, you bring up a good point.
I wonder if many voters in the community cast votes for people simply because of name recognition.
They know the person from the PTA or youth sports team, church or whatever and make an assumption that if they were OK there, then they'll be good at another step up.
Dismal voter turnout suggest that we don't work too hard when it comes to being informed before entering the ballot box.; January 12, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Well said Richard and point I was trying to make at 4:43. You say it so much better.

And yes, why didn't they put it to referendum if they believed they had the support. Can we get one of our directors to step up and respond?; January 12, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Lebo Citizens said...: May I remind folks of this Trib article.
Sibling rivalry possible on Mt. Lebanon board

I also have a very nasty letter from Mary Birks sent prior to the Primary stating that only five of the six candidates love children, education, and apple pie and lists all the candidates except James Cannon. They, ultimately, won the General Election and are serving as school board directors.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 11:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Remember that Fraasch and Hart actually voted to send the HS project to referendum. They were will to do what the community asked them to do.

On to the next point, yes name recognition is important. Without knowing people in the community it is hard to get elected. But, you have to put yourself out there in order to be recognized.

As for the Zeller's email, I would not be at all shocked to find out the source of that email was a sitting Board member. I hear grumblings that this is indeed the case.; January 12, 2012 at 12:03 PM
Anonymous said...: All of the conspiracy theorists lose ne when I look at Scoot Goldman. He was hardly a household name when he decided to run, and probably still remains relatively unknown. He was not close with Mr. Kubit when he decided to run with him and I must assume that the decision to run with Ed had more to do with the cost of running an election than anything else. Scott does not seem to have an agenda, seems curious and willing to question, but many have blindly lumped all of the SB members together when offering their criticisms. I think that is a huge mistake if you sincerely want to effect change.

Let's face it, you will never be able to elect a fresh new 9. So unless you are willing to work with the ones who are there now, you can probably forget about making an impact in the future. My political science professor used to say that every majority started with one person. So my advice is stop alienating all of SB members when you really only have an issue with a few.; January 12, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 12:03 not to be argumentative but Mr. Goldman was hardly a household name as an example. That is not meant to detract from his win or his character in any way.

If being "out there" is prerequisite for public office, who's been more active and in the public eye than Stevenson, Wertheim, Cannon and Bonjourno. There's more to it than that, I think.

I also believe that is why good organizations like the PTA have rules against officers and members using the organization in anyway to suggestion endorsements or bashing if candidates. That is why the discussion going on here is important for our community.; January 12, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Richard Gideon said...: Just for the record: I have no hard evidence that anyone on the Mt. Lebanon School Board authored the "Bill Zellers" E-mail, nor did I say that in my previous post. What I did say is that the blame for it can be traced to the board, through the board's determination to get what it wants at any price. I for one would not be surprised if someone on the board is "Bill Zellers" - but it could also be one of the board's supporters. In the end it doesn't matter - it is immoral in either case.; January 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Mr. Gideon, hit the issues once again in his last paragraph regarding the true believers.

Evidenced by this comment by President Posti on her blog: "Those of us who love our community understand the concept of living in community. Whether it's a town, a religious community or even a family, when you embrace being a part of something greater than yourself you recognize this often involves compromise and rarely works when one is combative or focused solely on private interests rather than the public or greater good. "

If.she can define a group "of us who love our community" then she must believe there must be groups out there that hate or only like our community. Unfortunately, those two groups are carefully and skillfully left to the communities imagination. The only importance is that we accept her group as the only loving one.; January 12, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Anonymous said...: A good start would be to get the women to resign who are on the Board. I support women in government, but not these three.; January 12, 2012 at 1:18 PM
Anonymous said...: My comment under Anon 12:36, should not be interpreted as calling Ms. Posti evil.
Far from it, I imagine she truly, truly believe that she(us) is(are) doing the greatess good for the community.

I'm only suggesting that there is a substantial difference between saying something like "we all love our community and unfortunately we have differing opinions on the direction it should go" and 'for those of us who love our community."

One says, we can disagree without being disagreeable and the other says, we love, they don't!; January 12, 2012 at 1:20 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: Rumor has it that the Zeller email involved more than one SB member, at least before it went out.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 1:21 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon. 12:20 you state that
"unless you are willing to work with the ones who are there now, you can probably forget about making an impact in the future." Have you been paying any attention to this project? Many of us in the community have made attempts to "work with" the school board and to present alternatives to their position. The CAC did exhaustive work and presented many suggestions based on their collective experiences in construction, architecture, etc. The board has consistantly ignored, and ridiculed those members of the community who disagree with their plans. It has been, and is, the board that has chosen to this path. THEY have no desire to work with" anyone other than their supporters, and because of this the impact makes the future looks bleak.
Joe Wertheim; January 12, 2012 at 1:26 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: I should have added an s to the name. Bill Zellers' email.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Anonymous said...: As much as I disagree with the 3 women on the board, I'm not so sure I'd go that far.
There are 6 male members (an intentional word play) too. If they don't have the cojones to vote against 3 women 'IF' they're misguided, there's something wrong.
Never hurts to inject a little humor.

If the issues are define by gender, sorry I don't see it.; January 12, 2012 at 1:32 PM
Anonymous said...: I like Scott and he is a perfect example of a PTA person not being evil.

But, Scott was PRESDIENT OF THE LINCOLN PTA! So yes, his name was out there plenty.

And when I say out there, I am not suggesting those people should be posting on blogs and such. They should be at meetings with lots of people. Lebovitz was on the MLFE I believe, Goldman was PTA president, Kubit has many kids that have their hands in many different things and he is not a terrible person, just wrong on the HS project.

Cannon had no such advantage (no kids as far as I know) and as for other involvement I think he was on the Veteran's Memorial board or something. But I would be hard pressed to find a D that would ever vote for James Cannon. The rest of the write-in campaign, while I am happy they wanted to be involved, was doomed to fail for starting so late in the process.

As for why James Cannon lost to Bill Cooper. I think you hit the nail a little bit. Cappucci (former PTA president at Foster I beileve) and Levowitz (MLFE Board member which is stacked with former PTA folks) had some coat tails to ride for him. Put Cooper in a head to head campaign with Cannon and I think Cannon wins the last election. But we will never know for sure.

Please don't underestimate the level of influece the MtL PTA has on elections. If you get on their bad side they will use their newsletters to discredit you. Go back and see what happened when Fraasch released his White Paper. Every school PTA newsletter set out to discredit him. They used their money to print and email newsletters in support of the HS project to no end. How is that supposed to be part of their mission?; January 12, 2012 at 1:37 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm not paying PTA dues anymore.; January 12, 2012 at 1:49 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; January 12, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Elaine, please post the nasty Birks email.; January 12, 2012 at 2:23 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; January 12, 2012 at 2:35 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: I'm not at my computer at the moment.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 2:35 PM
Anonymous said...: When you lose four of eight members of PTA Council it is a very strong statement about how misguided the remaining four members have become. It is also obvious the superintendent has no control over PTA's antics.; January 12, 2012 at 3:54 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: OK folks, I am a little cranky right now. I removed the comments about Nazi Germany. I have been quite lenient about accepting anonymous comments. Readers have requested that the name calling stop on this blog and off this blog. I am dealing with a family issue and have not had the time to read all the comments carefully. Now we are are talking about Hitler? I realize the hate mail will start again about censorship, but let me remind you that this is my blog. We have serious issues in Mt. Lebanon, so let's focus, People.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 4:01 PM
Anonymous said...: I give you high praise for removing the ridiculous comments posted earlier.

Sincerely,
Mr. Godwin Law; January 12, 2012 at 4:28 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: As requested:
Mary Birks letter

Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 4:38 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: Want to read something interesting, look up Godwin's Law.
I apologize if those comments caused anyone harm. They were over the top.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 4:54 PM
Anonymous said...: We have some "political" women on the board.; January 12, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Anonymous said...: How can Ms. Birks make those claims?; January 12, 2012 at 5:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Politics weaken our school board, Ms. Birks.; January 12, 2012 at 5:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Relax . . . it's campaign-speak. Google the phrase "only one candidate" and you'll quickly see that every candidate for every office has either made that claim about himself/herself or has had it made about him/her on any number of issues.

Mr. A is the only candidate that is tough on crime.

Mrs. B is the only candidate that understands women's rights to choose.

Mr. C is the only candidate who understands immigration reform.

Mr. D is the only candidate that will uphold the Constitution.

Mr. E is the only candidate we can trust.

Claims like that are as old as politics themselves.; January 12, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: The 5 candidates "value a representative government system, and expect to be held to a standard set forth by its citizenry"

Really? Why weren't they sworn in with their left hand on the Bible?; January 12, 2012 at 5:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 5:50, do you honestly believe the entire Mt. Lebanon "citzenry" to be Christian?

What would it have meant if Mr. Goldman was sworn in on Bible?

The SB is looking better and better with every comment.; January 12, 2012 at 6:06 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 5:06 pm. How are they looking better??

Once again regarding the referendum question earlier... why didn't they put it to referendum if they believed they had the support.

Can we get one of our directors to step up and respond?

No! Guess they don't want to be too transparent!; January 12, 2012 at 6:38 PM
Anonymous said...: I know that I am entering this conversation late but from the original post - "Does Ms. Stephenson realize that PA PTA cleared PTA of any wrongdoing in regards to the election?"- There is a difference between being cleared of any wrong doing and PA PTA making a decision that they were going to let the PTA remain as a PTA. My understanding is that PA PTA is very unhappy with this case and reprimanded accordingly. No free and clear involved.; January 12, 2012 at 6:55 PM
Anonymous said...: A question for those who have called for a referendum - what question would you have put on the ballot? That has always puzzled me. What if I thought the school needed $80 million in work but not $100 million? To say let's vote is a great/east response until you try to frame the question that actually goes on the ballot. After all he en the critics of this project still support spending tens of millions on certain aspects (roof, asbestos, etc).; January 12, 2012 at 7:43 PM
Anonymous said...: So that's the best you can come up with Anon 7:43? 'You' can't imagine a referendum question therefore we shouldn't have one.

Well I can and it took all of 10 seconds to create.

Do you approve of the $108+ million revised high school plan just rebid? Yes! No!

If approved, they proceed.
If the community doesn't approve, that means the board fell short or perhaps exceeded the communities desires and must go back to the drawing board.

See according to the board they claim they have the majority of the community on their side— approving the plans. But they're not so self-assured as to put that claim to the ultimate test.

See maybe their are a majority of their constituents that want the district to spend $110 million or maybe the $113.4 originally planned.

If the referendum failed, may be the BOSN group would rise up once again and lobby for the $150 million high school option the board rejected.; January 12, 2012 at 8:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 7:43 are you one of the board members or a designated spokesperson— explaining why the board didn't approve a referendum?

If not, we still haven't heard the board's rationale for not having a referendum!; January 12, 2012 at 8:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Sigh....so if we put $108 million on the ballot and it fails, then what? We wait another election cycle to put $98 million on the ballot? Really? Why even elect anyone?

When do I get to cast a vote on Obamacare? When do I get cast a vote on the Bush tax cut? When do I get to cast a vote on ending the war on Aafghanistan? Here's and idea, why not vote for EVERYTHING?; January 12, 2012 at 8:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 8:33, did you get to vote for the stormwater fee? How about the petition to avoid the anti windfall law? Or how about the municipal budget?

I didn't think so.; January 12, 2012 at 8:59 PM
Anonymous said...: 8:53 & 8:59. Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't remember an Act 34 or Act XXXX that said if Obamacare or sending troops to Afganistan exceed $113.4 million a referendum should be run.
Now of course we do have the Attorneys General in several stated filling suits against Obamacare, which is ad good as a referendum for now.
There is also the War Powers Act that could be invoked should the Afgan War expand against public opinion.; January 12, 2012 at 9:21 PM
Lebo Citizens said...: A referendum? It will never happen. I hear that a petition can be started for a referendum. I spent hundreds of hours on the last petition. Where did that get us? It was supposed to be for the Act 34 submission. Where did that get us? We have a SB president who was caught not citing her sources (plagiarism?) Where did that get us? We have a SB president who is suspected of crafting the Bill Zellers email. Where did that get us? We have four PTA Council members resign over the way the Bill Zellers email was handled. Where did that get us? Josephine Posti gets away with everything. Josephine Posti ignores emails, not from me since I gave up on that long ago. We have no say. No power. No representation. Nothing. But she is one of those who cares "deeply about our community and volunteers her time to serve" as was emailed to me privately by a blog reader today. I am respecting her desire to remain anonymous. I'm disgusted.
Elaine; January 12, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon 8:59, you're right. Let's do away with Blaise's court. You get a parking ticket at a broken meter, pay it, you have no right to question it.
The county assesses your home at $10 million that's OK, they have that right and you've surrendered your right to appeal it.
Hey great system. Let's extend it all the way. The government finds you guilty of grand theft auto, no appeal, it's the government, they can't possibly be wrong!; January 12, 2012 at 9:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Ah yes anon 8:59, you argument rings familiar.
Act 34 required our school directors to hold a public hearing to listen to their constituents comments and suggestions on the high school project before proceeding.
To which one member essentially said in advance of the hearing... I'm voting for the project.

8:59 she told the community I don't give a crap what you'll say or present, I'm voting for the project.

Stick to your guns 8:59, you deserve what you get!; January 12, 2012 at 10:10 PM
Anonymous said...: Ta DA!!!! Thank you for pointing out that we have a LAW in place to address when you are entitled to a referendum!!! Anything else?; January 12, 2012 at 10:12 PM
Anonymous said...: I may deserve what I get, but the law tells us you are not entitled to a vote.; January 12, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Since when do we compare due process or the right to an appeal to decisions made by our elected officials? If we got to appeal those, the country, state and township would stop. Your right to appeal those comes on Election Day.; January 12, 2012 at 10:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Just so we're clear on where we stand as citizens in Mt. Lebanon.

The school board president is allowed to plagiarize, the PTA is allowed to get involved in politicking against PTA and IRS rules to the contrary, and school board directors are allowed to vote on school projects prior to hearing evidence at required public hearings.

Is there anything else we've surrendered or is that the lot!

Oh, by the way before I forget. There waas a lot of criticism directed at Elaine on the comments regarding Coach Haering and how we didn't have the dignity to wish him a bon farewell.

Well I've kept checking on Bloglebo and the school district site. After reviewing them, all I can say is due to the dearth of info or comments... Chris Who?
At least we recognized that he was here.; January 12, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Right, an Election Day the PTA interferred with against IRS and PTA rules!!!
But, apparently that isn't a problem for you.; January 12, 2012 at 10:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Boy oh boy 10:44, you could write a bestseller. Don't forget the grassy knoll gunman.; January 12, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Anonymous said...: 10:53, the following isn't my observation.

"Please don't underestimate the level of influece the MtL PTA has on elections. If you get on their bad side they will use their newsletters to discredit you. Go back and see what happened when Fraasch released his White Paper. Every school PTA newsletter set out to discredit him. They used their money to print and email newsletters in support of the HS project to no end. How is that supposed to be part of their mission?

January 12, 2012 1:37 PM"

But you're right, it would be a local bestseller.

Bill Zeller could be the grassy knoll gunman!; January 12, 2012 at 11:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Bill Zellers is jo Posti!; January 12, 2012 at 11:44 PM
Anonymous said...: "My understanding is that PA PTA is very unhappy with this case and reprimanded accordingly. No free and clear involved." --- I heard that one of the presidents was asked to resign and refused. It doesn't sound like PA PTA has that much power after all.; January 13, 2012 at 8:07 AM