At the February 13, 2012 meeting, the School Board discussed the million dollars "out of balance" in the budget. I heard phrases like "Be prudent" and "Prioritize cuts as far away from the classroom as possible." But when a resident brought up the high school project, Josephine Posti said that we would have had this budget shortfall like all the other districts in the Commonwealth are experiencing, without the high school renovation. She also said that we have to look at history in terms of increases. I guess that is how they are rationalizing this mess. We can't say that we didn't warn them. Someone suggested that I put links to various articles suggesting areas to cut. I started with this one Mt. Lebanon superintendent to get 3.5% raise Now we are waiting to hear from Jan Klein and Dr. Tim where they recommend cuts. Uh, do you think they will look at their own increases? I don't think so either.
So I started to list links of warning signs or budget cuts suggested on this blog.
It's crunch time.
Here's an idea from the staff planning team - close an elementary school.
USC teachers facing job cuts
John Allison's Parting Gift for Mt. Lebanon
What went wrong?
State Budget Cuts Slice Local Education
If You Are Not a Retired Teacher, Be Afraid of The State Budget
Corbett's Budget Cuts
There are so many more, that I gave up. Currently, there are 507 posts and the majority of them have something to do with the fiscal irresponsibility on the part of the school board, not to mention www.lebocitizens.com. Just read the archives, Josephine, if you want to look at history.
24 comments:
The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials have a Power Point presentation of
"500 Cost Reduction Strategies for Local Education Agencies" in the following areas:
Administration
Alternative Education
Athletics
Banking
Benefits
Bids/RFPs
Budgeting
Calendar
Community
School Consolidation
Contracted Services
Copying
Cost Analysis
Debt Service
Drivers Ed
Educational Foundations
Energy – Awareness
Energy – Building Envelope
Energy – Control Systems
Energy—Green Schools
Energy – HVAC
Energy – Lighting
Energy – Procurement
Energy Star Programs
Energy – Transportation
Energy – Utility Costs
Energy – Water
Equipment
Extracurricular
Facilities Benchmarking and Data Management
Facilities Capital Improvement and Construction Facilities Environmental Safety
Facilities Grounds Management
Facilities Maintenance and Management Facilities Staff Management
Finance
Food Service
Grants
Healthcare
Instruction
Insurance
Intergovernmental Cooperation
Intermediate Unit Services
Intranet
Investment
Joint Purchasing
Legal
Library
Negotiations
Other
Overtime
Paperwork
Payroll
Personnel Administration
Postage
Printing
Procedures
Pupil Health
Purchasing
Recovery Plans
Revenue
Safety
Salaries
Special Education
Staff Utilization
Substitutes
Tax Collection
Technology
Telephone
Textbooks
Transportation
Travel
User Fees
Vandalism
Vocational Education
Volunteers
How to Drive Significant Savings
Other Sources for Cost Reduction Strategies
Best Practices Help Keep District Costs Low
Other Factors That Can Help Districts
I wonder if any of the board members have studied this list of cost reductions?
John
This board cannot, I repeat, cannot lay this $2.5 million dollar shortfall in the lap of Gov. Corbett, the PDE, Obama or the sour economy.
They were warned. As far back as May 2010 The Trib and board member Fraasch warned this day was coming.
"Friday, May 28, 2010
Budgets and Lancings
Lance: To Mt. Lebanon. Its school board approved a staggering 10.5 percent increase in taxes this week. That's to pay for a poorly executed high school renovation project and to cover teacher pensions. And, apparently, there's a little something in there for a new contract with teachers, now being negotiated. The school tax bill on a $200,000 home will soar to more than $5,300 a year. And that great sucking you're soon to hear won't be the straw at the bottom of an empty cold coffee.
This is at least the third lance Mt Lebanon has received due to the tax increase. We got lanced when we passed our preliminary budget, we got lanced when we passed the $113 spend limit on the high school, and now we get lanced after we pass the final budget.
I can't say I disagree with the lances. It's unfortunate that for years this Board has known the day would come when taxes would skyrocket up in order to pay for the high school. Since the first day I sat down on this Board, I asked how we were planning to pay for it. The answer became so clear on Monday night. We decided to increase taxes to pay for 100% of the cost of the first set of bonds for the project."
"We're going to be in the hole millions of dollars!"
"Why don't you just not build the new school which you obviously can't afford?" said the elephant in the room.
Do we need to call in Dave Ramsey to explain this to them?
I ran across this quote from 2007, by former Carnegie Councilwoman, Dorothy Kelly. She always advocated that the borough be run like a business. "It is absolutely essential that we do this [run things like a business] because costs have skyrocketed and governments do not produce money. They merely take money from the taxpayers."
Elaine
The Almanac has a good article about Monday's meeting. Mt. Lebanon board grapples with budget shortfall Here is the article saved in Google Docs Mt. Lebanon board grapples with budget shortfall
I forgot to thank Dale Ostergaard for mentioning all the other tax increases we are dealing with. Also, Dan Remely wants to look at the entire 2.9 million that we are facing, and look at cuts for that number. Thanks, Dale and Dan.
This quote from the Almanac is what happens when a board hides the personnel report from the public view and votes on that report without discussion:
"Additionally, Mt. Lebanon now faces a potential $900,000 liability--a grievance related to the pay scale for long-term substitutes hired full time. This could widen the budget shortfall to nearly $3 million."
Where is the Finance Committee to review this problem Josephine?
We used to have a Personnel Committee to review these matters but Josephine ignored that committee too.
Did the the Solicitor do sufficient review on this issue before personnel reports were sent to the Board for vote? Or, did he just let it slide?
If the union wants a $900,000 grievance settlement the Board should eliminate enough programming to save $3,000,000 in salaries, health care and pensions. But if they don't have enough guts to cut a building program, to an affordable size they don't have the guts to face the union - and the union knows that.
John
First, we must stop running the district emotionally, as in "It's all for the kids" and start looking at expenditures with a clear head.
Take for example the expenditure numbers from the board's 5/23/2011 Budget forecast.
Supplies, books & equipment - 2011-12 = $2,453,715
Supplies, books & equipment - 2012-13 = $2,453,715
A whopping difference of ................... ZERO
Now then let's look at
Salaries & Fringe Benefits - 2011-12 = $56,786,611
Salaries & Fringe Benefits - 2012-13 = $59,609,231
A difference of - coincidentally - $2,822,620!
Amazingly close to the number the board believes it's short. Imagine that.
Now then Mrs. Birks suggest we all get on the phone to Gov. Corbett and demand he send more money to fund the district's runaway expenditures.
Before you do though, you might want to ask Mrs. B where she thinks the governor will find that money in a state budget that is also underwater.
Why is it that private industry when faced with declining revenues and budgetary problems can make the tough and unpleasant choice to freeze payrolls or at least minimize raises, that seems to be so abhorant to school boards and administrators. Thought it was all for the kids?
Andy Bradford
"Also, Dan Remely wants to look at the entire 2.9 million that we are facing, and look at cuts for that number" This from the guy who brought you the $113 MILLION high school project because you can't do it for only $75 million. Yeah, thanks alot Dan!
Joe Wertheim
From The Almanac:
"In the meantime, Birks urged community members to contact state representatives regarding the funding pressures. "We are being forced to make these decisions by folks at the state level," she said."
Did I missed the board meeting when the state representatives came in and held a gun to the board's collective head and said:
"You will build a high school you can't afford.
You will grant raises you can't meet.
You will print costly, inaccurate glossy FAQ flyers.
You will engage in expensive litigation with the municipality over zoning restrictions you wish to ignore.
You will hire a $15,000 strategic plan facilitator (thought facilitating the strategic plan was the domain of the superintendent and his staff?)."
Damn, I'm sorry I missed it, must have been entertaining.
I'm beginning to believe the word shill comes to mind.
"shill (shl) Slang
n. One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.
Someone I never met knocked on my door collecting petition signatures this week. She told me that her husband is now under-employed and with all the taxes and fees that keep getting piled on here they are being priced out of their home. She said she had voted for James and all the write-in candidates. Hey, thanks!
..and Andy...thank you for supporting me in your way.
-Charlotte Stephenson
serimFrom: Mark Hart
An oldie, but a goodie, from almost exactly two years ago....
All:
I've said this before, and I will say it again continually until more folks understand the situation we're in: We are at the "tipping point" economically in the District and Municipality. Everything we're feeling and sensing now, and the resulting financial panic, is directly attributable to the declining tax streams and the increasing expenses of operating these government bodies.
We can debate about forecasts all day long. However, it's obvious that economic problems are escalating at the local and state levels, particularly. All the things which, in the past, we counted upon as "givens" are not anymore. Earned income will be down, and so will the resulting tax revenue. Benefit costs and pensions are up, and that expense burden cannot be absorbed without cutting back other items. Yet, no in office wants to admit it, let alone make prudent management choices, and explain the service sacrifices that will come about.
Here is my prediction: In a few short years, the Boards and Commissions will be forced to close schools, slash programs, and cut back on basic, expected services. You pick the cuts and closures, but they're coming. Repeat: they are coming. (Note: the District will need to cut more than $5 million in annual expenses, just to start.)
And worse, when it hits, the Boards and Commissions will throw others under the bus, plus blame those in office now -- and probably the State as well.
Unless, of course, we find the "money tree" in Mt. Lebanon park.
Mark Hart
Wow! Mark Hart nailed it. I never met the man and wouldn't know him on the street, but he sure knew what he was talking about. Another person who saw the warning signs. Let's see. Allison, Hart, Fraasch...
Elaine
I remember him saying it as well as the BOSN and Roycroft girls responses.
Well, Mark's, James' and Allison's predictions have arrived, and whom has the sleeping electorate put in charge....
Mark, I suspect they believe the money tree is hidden somewhere in the McNeilly Park property!
Andy Bradford
Please sign your comments, folks.
Elaine
Somewhere, deep down in the DNA of most of the members of the Board, is the idea that a new, opulent high school will attract the pene-rich and their school-aged children. In fact, Director Remely has, in previous meetings, suggested that there will be an increase in high school enrollment in the coming years. Mr. Remely has also stated publicly that education in Mt. Lebanon "..is our industry." (Note: This comment comes immediately after Mr. Remely became political and expressed his desire for a new Governor, "..one who actually has a little gumption about funding some education..." The comment starts around the 1:17:00 point in the School Board Discussion Meeting podcast of 13 February 2012. If you could not attend the meeting this podcast is required listening.) I found this comment to be ironic, coming from someone who is in business himself and who by all rights should know better than to call a taxpayer funded, union controlled school district an "industry." If the Mt. Lebanon School District were run like a business it would be less likely to be in the current mess in which it finds itself. I say "less likely" because if the District's business model is something like Solyndra's Mr. Remely could very well be correct!
Some of the Board members are also banking on an economic "recovery." They could be right. But even if the economy does pick up in 2012 (anyone wish to place a wager?) will it be enough to offset the costs associated with the high school project, salary increases, pension obligations, change orders, and litigation? Is there enough turn-over in the real estate market, and a necessary increase in real estate prices, to fill the District's coffers again from an antiquated, 19th century property tax system? With a 30% retirement rate in the community, by some accounting, will 20% of those people be able to sell their homes at a substantial profit and get out of the way? Will the pene-rich that the Board desperately wishes to attract even want the types of homes available in Mt. Lebanon? In lieu of a flood of home sales in 2012, is there a millage rate beyond which the Board will not go?; and if so, what is it? So many questions.
Huffington Post had this article saying that the economy prior to the recession is not coming back.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/
2012/02/13/conference-board-us-
economy_n_1265884.html
"In fact, Director Remely has, in previous meetings, suggested that there will be an increase in high school enrollment in the coming years."
Mr. Gideon, is this the same Mr. Remely that said he didn't have a crystal ball during his comments Monday night?
And also the same guy that asked Mr. Celli, if the floor they took off building G to get under the Act 34 limit could be added back on later?
Seems to be pattern here.
Downsize the building, so we can enlarge it later if we have too.
Vote for staff raises because we need to retain the best, (increasing our pension obligations), design larger classrooms, etc.... so that less than one year later, we can cut those valuable teachers, cut programs and maybe eliminate neighborhood schools.
Dig up perfectly good athletic spaces, like tennis courts and rifle ranges to provide our athletes with the best and widest variety of extracurricular options. Then debate which ones we should cut.
Makes perfect sense. Wonder if Governor Corbett thinks of Mr. Remely's comments?
Dick Bachman
I think the $900,000 grievance proves the schools are no longer run for the kids but for self-serving employees.
John
Mr. Bachman:
Yes, it is the same man. And as a general observation for all Blog readers, the nine members of the Mt. Lebanon School Board have a combined personal net worth running into many millions of dollars. The Board's primary constituents are people similar to themselves; the upper quintile of Mt. Lebanon residents (based on the distribution of votes in the last election).
I mention the preceding because I don't believe that there is a lot of incentive for the directors to make the extremely difficult decisions to cut programs and people. Therefore their only recourse will be to raise property taxes as much as possible - and "too bad" for the middle-class.
I am absolutely amazed at the apparent belief & hope of certain SB members that the *Taj Mahal* HS (a) will entice families with children to move into Lebo, (b) resulting in an increase in public school enrollmrnt in Lebo, and (c) that is supposedly a really great outcome for us all ?
Lets look into some basic facts, circumstances and very likely consequences of such beliefs & hopes :
1) Lebo is built-out....no more room for net growth in housing units of any significant number;
2) 78% of Lebo's 14,000+ households do not have children in MTLSD schools...that amounts to roughly 11,000 households;
3) assume every household pays Lebo achool taxes (RE, and in 70% of the cases EIT as well)...RE taxes directly for owner-occupied, and via rent for rental properties;
4) assume the HS attracts 1,000 new families, each with 1 school age child, to move into Lebo....there being no room for 1,000 additional new housing units in Lebo, these families would have to find housing in the available housing stock;
5) assume that 1,000 folks in the 78% household category of no children in the MTLSD system (9%)move out of Lebo...for whatever reason...perhaps they are elderly, most on fixed income and/or cannot afford or do not want to pay the ever increasing taxes & fees from governmental agencies hereabouts;
6) neither the average nor the median price occupied Lebo housing unit generates the $15,000+ in annual local school taxes necessary to cover the average MTLSD cost per student...or anything even remotely close to it;
7) assume that the 1,000 new families move into the 1,000 housing units vacated by the 1,000 households with no children in the schools...there is a net increase in MTLSD enrollment of 1,000 students;
8) assume that the marginal or incremental cost of adding 1,000 more students to the current total MTLSD enrollment of only some 5,250is only $10,000/student, not the current $15,000+ average....that means the 1,000 additional students would require $10 million in additional tax dollars annually to fund their K-12 MTLSD education;
9) unlikely to be funded by State taxes at all, the added burden would fall on local Lebo taxpayers.....at about $2 millon/mill, RE taxes would have to increase by 5.0 mills overall;
10) this 5 mills would amount to a roughly 20% increase, or a $1,000 increase in a property with an assessed value of $200,000;
11) this magnitude of tax increase, surely coupled with other tax & fee increases, would likely force a number..say 1,000 more households with no children in MTLSD...to move out of LEBO...and who would replace them ?
12) imagine the consequences of just half the 1,000 new families adding 2 children, not just 1, to the enrollment and tax cost;
13) and the MTLSD very definitely has the building capacity to accomodate 2,000 or more students than current enrollment;
14) and having said that, think about the potential consequences of school vouchers, District consolidations, etc. in the future.
You see where all this could coceivably be heading ? The SB surely does not...what in the world are they thinking ?
Bill Lewis
PS. For those that want to nit-pick my numbers, yeah this is a broad brush. For instance, I did not factor in the fact that the 1,000 new families would be paying EIT, while the 1,000 move-outs had not been paying. Right....OK, lets assume that each new family had to pay EIT on $100,000/year...that would be $100,000 x 1,000 = $100,000,000 x 0.5% = $500,000 in EIT, or just 5% of the $10,000,000 in added cost ! Me Bad.
Mr. Lewis, that is one heady analysis and it seems to make perfect sense.
It would be interesting to have Ms. Klein, Dr. Steinhauer, President Posti or any other board member refute your claims or numbers.
After all they are the ones postulating that the new high school is the answer to all things Mt. Lebanon.
Its great to make extravagant claims, to promise milk and honey. It is another to show the evidence.
I'm betting the board and the administration will do one of two things.
Completely ignore your analysis as if it doesn't exist or...
get someone to write a letter to The Almanac calling you a tin-hatted crank.
Personally I believe the latter as most likely, as that has been their MO to stifle intelligent conversation.
Could be wrong, but we'll see if any of the leaders has proof for their claims or the cojones to engage in an honest debate.
Thank you Mr. Lewis for shining a light.
Andy Bradford
Bill,
Great breakdown. It underscores the simple fact that for all the social engineering this school board is attempting, it will all backfire. All of it. Their reckless disregard for the rest of the community will have just the opposite intended effect. If I were a teacher, PTA member, realtor or small business owner, I'd be livid considering the looming economic forecast.
I'm convinced by the board wants your vote and they want your money but they don't want your opinion, or the CAC's opinion, or the structural engineer's opinion, or Celli's opinion on zoning, or P. J. Dick's opinion on the real cost of all the bells and whistles they wanted in the project . They only want the opinions of those who will promote their thinking even if they are ignorant enough to file a $900,000 grievance in the middle of a budget shortage.
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