president is Joseph Rodella who reported having a 40 percent interest in the firm on his financial disclosures filed with PA Cyber: Mt. Rodella was a PA Cyber board member from 2008 to 2011.The company did $4 million in work for PA Cyber from 2005 through this year.
I was not involved with the school district politics in 2008, but I understand Joe Rodella was president of our school board. That was also the year that YSA was let off the hook for their Joint Maintenance Agreement commitment.
The article continues with:
Using Costars is legal, Mr. Weiss said, but buying from RoData while Mr. Rodella was on the board "could not happen in a regular school district," he said. "Clearly, this is a problem, I think, under the Ethics Act."
The state Ethics Act bars public officials, including charter school board members, from using their offices to financially benefit themselves, immediate family or businesses with which they are associated.
Again, since I don't know Mr. Rodella, I did search his name on this blog and there were seven posts associated with him.
Elaine - if my memory serves me correctly, his son played football in 2008.
ReplyDeleteThe feds don't conduct investigations without a good reason.
ReplyDeleteBelieve he may still be coaching hockey somewhere in the area.
ReplyDeleteA resident expressed a conflict-of-interest complaint against him locally when he was on the MTLSD school board for allegedly favoring athletic spending while he was also an officer in a local youth sports umbrella group. He quickly filed a request for an advisory opinion with the PA ethics commission, and received an opinion based solely on the information HE submitted that there was no apparent ethics violation. No kidding !
To cap it off, the official opinion document was not released to the complainant until about 30 days following the issuance of the advisory opinion. The ethics commision policy was that they would not consider appeals to advisory opinions if submitted more than 30 days following the issuance date. The resident tried with a submission of additional facts, but was too late and denied. No kidding !
I think he is at Pitt. Here is the advisory opinion from the PA Ethics Commission. The person who sent this to me wrote, "The feds need to investigate the ethics commission as well." Ethics Advisory Opinion
ReplyDeleteElaine
Joe Rodella and his bff Jo Posti went so hard after Mark Hart for failing to file a Statement of Ethics form. Mark filed it late and there was no conflict of interest.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it they say the crazy people do? Accuse others of exactly the bad deed you are doing.
Posti with her plagiarism. Rodella with his financial gain as a Board member.
Truly, this would be unbelievable if I wasn't already in Mt Lebanon. I don't see a way Rodella can get off scott free here. Funny how Posti voted to send money to NNDS this year given their relationship with PA Cyber Charter and Mr Rodella as well. It's a small world after all.
Hmm… do you think they will look into the situation where the MLFE fed the insatiable spending appetites of school board directors who also served on MLFE’s board? Me thinks that Lebowitz, Birks, Ostergaard and Posti all had common relationships to the MLFE and School Board, and that was another conflict of interest.
ReplyDeleteSchool Board Directors taking donations from unsuspecting donors to the MLFE (who thought it was going toward projects “for the kids”) and using it to test the waters for a $30 Million bail out of the financial jam they have caused seems like a conflict of interest, eh?
Will anyone look into that one too? They may not have potentially personally gained like Rodella, but saving their public service a**es is a kind of personal gain of itself.
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteHere is the critical part of the story for Mr. Rodella:
...Purchase orders from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 list him (Rodella) as the contact person the school should call with any questions.
...
Mr. Rodella was a PA Cyber Board Member for 2008 to 2011.
...
The state Ethics Act bars public officials, including charter school board members, from using their offices to financially benefit themselves, immediate family or businesses with which they are associated.
Mr. Rodella's attorney defends the contracts by saying there was nothing to gain on the part of Mr. Rodella?
Rodella did almost $4 million in work for PA Cyber from 2005 but these four POs are the only ones presented at this time. Probably because the prosecuting attorney is holding the big ones back for later.
I can just see all the friends of Joe R backpedaling from his support now. That includes your current School Board president.
Of course there was! He owned 40% of the dang company!
They also need to check the school district's association with PACyber/NNDS. Could the recent oddly high pay raises to certain administrators be hush money? Stranger things have happened and the fact that something as simple as accounting for YSA annual JMA payments cannot be accounted for is curious.
ReplyDeleteI mean Dr. Steinhauer states the YSA account is paid up, then several weeks later the YSA delivers a payment to bring their obligation up to date!
There are just too many loose ends in district affairs.
Hope there is no one out that thinks there is no need to change auditions every two years.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a pretty sure bet it's a duck.
ReplyDeletePennsylvania Cyber School raided
ReplyDeleteWonder who the accounting firm is?
Through a Right To Know, a copy of the MTLSD agreement with National Network of Digital Schools approved by the Board in April 2012 is here.
ReplyDeleteNNDS agreement
Elaine
The accounting firm is Prence CPAs in Koppel
ReplyDeletehttp://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/fbi-irs-search-offices-of-cyberschool-in-midland-cpa-firm-644490/
We used McPherson & Jacobson, LLC to hire our super supers. Look who is listed for Pittsburgh. Consultant Team
ReplyDeleteElaine
This ought to be fun when Rodella rolls over on Posti and Company...
ReplyDeleteQuid pro quo perhaps? From the PG...
ReplyDelete"Dr. Davis said superintendent Timothy Steinhauer had proposed the concept of partnering with the digital schools network as a pilot program. At the end of the semester, the district will gather data and feedback to decide what role the online class experience should play in the larger curriculum."
Here is Timmy's contract with mention of McPherson & Jacobson. Steinhauer contract
ReplyDeleteElaine
If something comes out of this, I'd be highly surprised.
ReplyDeleteAlso...
The School Board president rails against Charter schools on her private blog then approves money to go to the Cyber Charter School? I think that may be the exact definition of duplicity.
Please tell me there are valid candidates running against her next election.
Rodella is school board president in 2008, but McPherson & Jacobson show him joining them in 2007 and M&J just happens to be involved in the Steinhauer hire, who out of the blue after many board discussions on how bad cyber charter schools are appens to push getting involved with NNDS.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone have cause to think there's a conflict of interest or quid pro quo there!!!!
It's also extremely curious that the board that just barely squeaks onto the board against Silhol, manages to rise promptly to board president. Who was a big supporter in her campaign- good old Joe.
Bet we'll see some in-depth investigative reporting by our esteemed PIO in MTLmagazine.
ReplyDeleteI think they should start a new feature. Rather than "People You Ought Yo Know" it should be "People You'd Be Smart To Keep Your Eye On!"
Wonder if the legal beagle on the board, the nationally recognized authority on skirting hiring/employment regulations is "excited" about this development?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhen Mr Rodella served on our Board the Superintendent tried to connect the Mount Lebanon School District with the PA Cyber School. Interference from Mount Lebanon killed the partnership and cost Mount Lebanon School District millions of dollars of alternative revenue each year. The Board made up the difference in taxes.
interesting comments here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timesonline.com/your_school/k-12/pa_cyber_charter/targets-still-not-revealed-for-federal-investigation-involving-pa-cyber/article_c1378a47-12b5-57ae-b833-82f6bb79b5f4.html#user-comment-area
Not quite following what you are suggesting 2:16. That it would be OK to rake in millions? That "getting ours" takes priority over ethics and morals?
ReplyDeleteRead Posti's Center Court entry: Stand Up for Edication, 11/2011 and then tell me how she votes to get involved with a cyber school.
2:29 they don't reveal what other entities have been targeted. Since Dr. Timmy hired by M&J (Rodella association) Proposed working with NNDS one can only hope that link is being investigated.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how quiet Center Court has gone. Last post July 17th... coincidence??????
Did you guys see that special on Fox News yesterday about how mismanagement, out of control spending and the public service unions are bankrupting our cities? I worried that the same thing is going to happen here.
ReplyDelete2:39 P.M.,
ReplyDeleteThe Superintendent who was interfered with in making a connection with the PA Cyber School was extremely ethical, competent, popular, and one of the best superintendents this district has employed. Unfortunately "special Interests" helped remove her from her position.
Making millions of dollars for our District never interfered with her ethics and morals, but a Mount Lebanon Board member interfered with the alternative revenue source and now we find out why. Read the news article associated with this blog thread and figure out which Board Member was named in the article. Then you will have a better understanding of what I'm telling you.
Getting involved with a cyber school made great sense if Mount Lebanon teachers were teaching cyber courses through PA Cyber School. They had the technology, we have the teachers. Unfortunately a Board Member had his own agenda.
I wish the investigators good luck.
3:49 wasn't sure which super you were referring too and if they were suggesting getting involved with managing PACyber. Apparently the cyber school and it's performance isn't under investigation, just the conflict of interest and flow of money etc.
ReplyDeleteAs for ethics violations by Rodella. If he was hired as a consultant for the superintedent headhunter in 2007 and he was board president in '08 that smells a lot like a conflict of interest regardless of his involvement at PACyber.
Here's part of PA's Ethics Code:
The Public Official and Employee Ethics Act delineates certain restricted activities in which persons subject to the Ethics Act may not engage. These restrictions provide the basis upon which Commission rulings are issued.
(a) No public official or public employee shall engage in conduct that constitutes a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest is defined as use by a public official or public employee of the authority of his office or employment or any confidential information received through his holding public office or employment for the private pecuniary benefit of himself, a member of his immediate family, or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated. "Conflict" or "conflict of interest" does not include an action having a de minimis economic impact or which affects to the same degree a class consisting of the general public or a subclass consisting of an industry, occupation, or other group which includes the public official or public employee, a member of his immediate family, or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated.
Jack: do you mean viable candidates? And if that's your hope, feel free to get involved.
ReplyDeleteThe investigation may or may not lead to charges. But as someone else pointed out, it takes smoke for the feds to chase a fire. And once they look into JoRo, they'll inevitably start lookin at JoPo, LarLebo, Dale-O, Mary the Rhino, and the rest of the cast. Golly, hope the feds don't conduct an audit. Let me say that again: Federal investigators, whatever you do, DON'T AUDIT!
4:40 P. M., You may remember a former Mount Lebanon Superintendent was also hired, after his retirement, by the same head-hunter firm to do superintendent searches in Pennsylvania. Out of the public sector into the private sector doing government work. Oh My!
ReplyDelete9:12--i don't see the issue? If he was retired, why does it matter? Let's stick to the issue. There's plenty of actual corruption that can be investigated.
ReplyDeleteYou're right 6:51 hopefully they'll stick to the issue and there are plenty of trails leading to "A conflict of interest is defined as use by a public official or public employee of the authority of his office or employment or any confidential information received through his holding public office or employment for the private pecuniary benefit of himself, a member of his immediate family, or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated" if they look and dig deep enough in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIgnore the board's discussions and follow the votes!