Mt. Lebanon School District Announces Grant Awards for Capital Campaign Feasibility Study
April 25, 2012
The Mt. Lebanon School Board is pleased to announce that the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment (MLCE) and the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education (MLFE) have each generously awarded a $10,000 grant to the Mt. Lebanon School District to fund nearly half of the feasibility study the District is conducting for a possible capital campaign. The Board retained the services of the consulting firm Pursuant Ketchum to conduct the study at a cost of $41,000. The District is undertaking the study to assess the viability of a capital campaign to reduce the amount of the second bond required for the $109.7 million high school project currently under construction and to establish an endowment to sustain and grow academic and fine arts programs in the District.
“We are humbled by the tremendous amount of support these gifts represent from the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment and the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education,” said Josephine Posti, President, Mt. Lebanon School Board. “The success of a capital campaign depends not only on a comprehensive feasibility study but on the enthusiasm and expertise of these two key community partners.”
The feasibility study will be conducted over the next several months and will include interviews with members of the Mt. Lebanon community and high school alumni to determine the factors for success. A final report to the Board is expected by the end of August.
“The Board of Directors of Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education is pleased to support the school district’s capital campaign feasibility study,” said John Federico, President of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education. “We view the study as a necessary investment in preparing for a successful capital campaign to finance a portion for the renovation of Mt. Lebanon High School. We look forward to working with the administration and school board to inspire and encourage our neighbors in Mt. Lebanon and the alumni of the district to help us rejuvenate this valuable community asset.”
“The Mt. Lebanon School District expressed the desire to conduct a successful capital campaign in order to reduce the tax burden associated with the high school renovation and benefit all residents of Mt. Lebanon,” said Joseph King, President of MLCE’s Board of Directors. “At Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment, we strive to support the priorities of the community and its residents and support projects that will give current, past, and future residents a meaningful and long-lasting sense of pride in the distinctive qualities of this wonderful community.” The MLCE grant is from the Mt. Lebanon Community Impact Fund.
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About Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment
http://www.mtlebanonendowment.org/
Through contributions from individuals, families and organizations, Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment works to build a permanent fund to support programs and services for the Mt. Lebanon community and its residents, and preserve its unique character. As an independent 501(c)(3) public charity, MLCE focuses upon three areas:
Families and Children—providing them with the help they need to be strong and functional, and supporting Youth to develop intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially.
Senior Citizens—providing them with opportunities to employ their energy and creativity, and addressing their social and physical needs so that none lack access to services and activities of their choosing.
Community Life—sustaining and enhancing the amenities that make Mt. Lebanon a good place to live; supporting cultural, artistic, aesthetic and recreational programs and institution; and funding efforts that promote community and civility.
About the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education
www.mtlsd.org/mlfe
The mission of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education (MLFE) is to provide a permanent source of financial support to enable the Mt. Lebanon School District to expand and enhance learning opportunities for its students. MLFE is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that raises money on behalf of the Mt. Lebanon School District for innovative educational programs for all students.
The MLFE was founded in 1999 to fulfill a goal of the school district’s strategic plan. Since that time, MLFE has raised thousands of dollars for extraordinary educational programs for all students in every grade and every school of the district. These projects span the entire curriculum and all 10 Mt. Lebanon Schools. Every student has participated in at least one project started with MLFE’s support.
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/HeadlineArticle.asp?HLP_ID=1342&HL_ID=1158&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#1158
14 comments:
All I can say is, "Where the **** was this support when director Fraasch and others asked for it four years ago?"
Is it truly about the messenger and not the message in Mt. Lebanon? How many times was this brought up? More than a half dozen I know about. It was part of the presentation in early 2009.
Hell, Fraasch even said he approached MLFE about doing this and they turned it down because it was out of their scope. Former MLFE Director Jackie Foor admitted as much in a public meeting. Now all of sudden when everyone realizes that we cannot afford this project and will go to referendum on the back end of the bonds, now it becomes an "oh ****" moment?
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dgtjfm3w_305t5w4jfc look at slide 7.
If I had indecent manners I would go to a SB meeting and cuss them out until they apologized to the people who put this out there years ago and got crapped on for doing it. Alas, I have decent manners so I will just chalk it up to someone being a "visionary" and ahead of his time on the school board.
I'm not pissed the SD is doing this, I am pissed they pissed all over someone who tried to help them get this done at the right time.
I am not going to guess how much will be raised. Based on all the lies this school board puts out they might tell potential donors that they are going to end world hunger with their donations.
Signed,
Citizen_A
Thank you very much to the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment and the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education for their donations to the MLSD feasibility/planning study. Your generosity and leadership is very much appreciated.
John Ewing
Just an FYI, the MLFE board is listed here.
http://www.mtlsd.org/mlfe/mlfeboard.asp
"MLFE is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that raises money on behalf of the Mt. Lebanon School District for innovative educational programs for all students. MLFE is supported through donations and all contributions are tax deductible. Join your friends and neighbors and become an education booster. Help maintain the educational excellence that makes Mt. Lebanon a premiere school district. Join now!"
MLCE board of directors is listed here:
http://www.mtlebanonendowment.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
Elaine
I'm still scratching my head (and other areas) over this whole thing. We have a publicly funded school we can't afford. So the board that slammed this sleazy deal home wants to raise private funds for their publicly funded palace? And they're tapping into local non-profits for money to see if they can raise money...private money...in addition to additional public money through a tax increase...
Man, Posti-Palooza is makin my head swim. Where's Theo? I need some Jell-O.
Do you think that PK will be able to raise as much money as USC just got from their teachers? And they didn't need to pay a fund raiser or tap non-profits whose stated goal is "to expand and enhance learning opportunities for its students". I wonder if those who have made contributions to the MLFE and the MLCE are happy about their money being used in this manner?
Joe Wertheim
Joe,
Good question. I'm glad taxpayers aren't on the hook for $20,000 for the funding. I have no idea how successful the fundraising will be. Mt. Lebanon does have some successful graduates and if all you do is find a handful of them willing to donate then you might get something.
But this should have been started years ago, not after the shovel has already been put into the ground. Now it is an obvious taxpayer bailout instead of an investment in some kind of vision of the future.
Did they wait for the shovel to go into the ground to solicit donations for the veteran's memorial? Why didn't they? Because they knew they had to start BEFORE the project started.
I do agree with the first comment that the school board probably realized it was up the creek and needed more money than it had to avoid the referendum.
Albert Brenneman
And did you notice in Posti's prefab press release that used 109 million instead of 113? Magically, the project has shaved off 4 miilion. If she has that kind of god-like power, why was there a skywalk in the original design? She could have conjured up a force field to keep the poor, suffering children out of the elements...nevermind that most of them will have walked to the school in the morning and will walk home in the afternoon...heck, for 4 million bucks, we could have two full-time escorts with umbrellas walking kids back and forth. I mean, that's where we're headed. We don't need self sufficiency. The government will take care of us.
Samuel,
Four million dollars could buy us two assistant football coaches to walk the kids back and fourth.
And four million dollars could buy turf for Mellon and Jefferson field twice. Oh No! I take that back the Commissioners are kissing up to the Athletic Supporters by using our municipal tax dollars to do that.
John Ewing
First time blog comment for me. I heard about this blog through the latest Almanac article. That was a wonderful story.
My question is do the donors have a choice for their donations to be earmarked for an endowment or towards the renovation costs? Who decides where and how much goes to each cause? Is there a possibility that the money raised will fund the endowment, but the tax payers will still be able to vote on a referendum? Or do they get a sizeable tax increase? Sherri Gilbert
Sherri,
What happens with donations depends on the decisions of the organization’s Board. If you insist that your money should be used in a particular way, and get a commitment with the Board that your donation will be directed that way then your goal will be achieved. Without such an agreement up front one should assume that it will be directed to the initiative of the organization’s choosing.
Anything is possible according to the scenarios you described. If you plan to donate and have particular requirements for how your money is used the best thing to do is discuss your concerns with the executive directors of those 501©3s. If there is no executive director, contact the Board president.
When I initially supported the Denis Theatre project, I believed that purchasing the building would be critical toward gaining other support, so I funded a project to develop such a strategy and the Board obliged. The Veterans Memorial Project was very specific and straightforward, so that decision was an easy one to make. It’s really a matter of personal preference when making decisions to donate. Sometimes it matters to me how the money is spent and other times it doesn’t. Those decisions are yours to make.
Two things that I believe are important to do when making donations are to first be sure that a large percentage of the proceeds are not going to salaries. It’s always a good idea to get an idea of how much of what is taken in is actually going to the cause you are supporting. Additionally, I like to follow up with a site visit to confirm that what was intended indeed happened.
If a future fundraising effort on the part of the school district does not fill in the monetary gap between the project cost and referendum requirement, my guess is that a referendum would occur. It’s not clear to me whether the school district plans to establish a capital campaign specific to their needs or if they intend for an ongoing partnership with the MLFE and Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment. Time will tell.
As a consumer, making informed decisions is always a good idea. My hope is that those who pushed for the current costly renovation will be the first in line with fat checks to offset the renovation expenses. Hope that helped!
-Charlotte Stephenson
Sherri, Charlottes post is excellent, but I have to disagree with one thing she said. This school board will do everything in their power to avoid a referendum, just as they have in the past. The last thing they want is to allow the entire community to have a say in how OUR money is spent!
Joe W
People need to understand that currency is fungible and, therefore, when you give money to some organization, you have virtually no control over how it’s spent.
Even if you are promised that not a single cent of your donation will be spent on X, it can still be spent entirely on X without breaking the promise. That’s because the organization can direct your “restricted” dollars toward some unrelated budget items to free up an equal amount of unrestricted dollars that had been budgeted there. These unrestricted dollars can then be spent on X without breaking the promise. The effect, however, is exactly the same as if your not-for-X dollars had been spent on X, contrary to your express wishes.
If you donate money to people you can’t trust to use it wisely, expect it to be used foolishly. No matter what you do.
Tom,
That's true. One can only hope that others stand behind their word but it is always a case of "buyer beware" as you indicated.
-Charlotte Stephenson
Mt. Lebanon does have many very successful graduates. However, if the Mt. Lebanon school district has alienated them in the same manner as they have alienated many folks recently; those successful graduates won't answer the PK calls to donate to a school district that disrespects people all the time. I hope the many very successful graduates will donate because there's not enough money to give everyone everything they want.
Freda Witness
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