As high school students, we understand that consequences are sometimes deserved and a natural part of growing up. But we also know the difference between a strict policy and an empty threat.The night before graduation last June, a number of high school seniors were cited for drinking or drugs when the police broke up a party. Almost every student was able to walk at graduation.
Why do we have a Policy Committee? Why do we have policies which aren't enforced? There aren't consequences. I pointed that out at a policy committee meeting on more than one occasion. We have a District website that is not updated, complete with spelling errors. We have a school board president who doesn't cite her sources [plagiarism for anyone else.]
The School Board is a disgrace. Giving out salary increases while charging students to park, cutting staff, not meeting AYP, while their "What did you do today to improve the life of a child?" mantra is a joke. Who is really spineless in Mt. Lebanon? Sorry, School Board Directors, but the kids are on to you.
26 comments:
What are the names of the parents?
Easily checked by date under Allegheny County and Blaise Larotonda here.
http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJ.aspx
Elaine
This is a very interesting story. It strikes me as a slap in the face to the brave men and women in law enforcement who risk their lives to protect all of us - including the kids involved.
The School District should be ashamed of themselves!
Do you realize what a joke this makes of the Strategic Plan goals? A board that can't enforce a drinking policy is not capable of implementing a Strategic Plan. If the Administrators act this way for the children, can you imagine how far they will roll over for the teachers union. Good bye Building C. Hello Building G.
A Superintendent's job is to enforce school Policy.
Before giving Tim any raise the Board should have asked these questions:
Oh! I'm sorry. I forgot, this Board doesn't ask questions it just runs up your tax burden.
Do you think this is why our spineless Superintendent and Board President hid the Agenda from the public?
Tim's raise is a slap in the face to the entire community. If he man had integrity he would have enforced the Policy and declined the raise.
"or declined the raise"
I've never seen a Mount Lebanon Superintendent mocked by the student newspaper.
8:32 PM makes an interesting and astonishing point about the student newspaper criticizing the superintendent.
The school board members better realize that people of all ages in this town have reached the tipping point with their spending.
A much better story would have been how the superintendent declined a raise out of sympathy with residents who have lost jobs.
Why aren't the teachers giving back?
Shave 25% off their checks.
The board is giving Steinhauer another raise to thank him for doing their bidding, not necessarily for doing a good job as superintendent.
Hopefully, the residents of ML will remember this tax-and-spend board at the next election.
Man, you people are slow. Let's see...guy with no experience as a super, bounced from two other districts, pretty much unqualified, basically a bottom feeder (oddly familiar to Obama in terms of lack of a resume). Suddenly he's making a sweet six figure salary, getting raises every year and all he has to do is whatever the school board wants? Listen--that's called a p-a-y-o-f-f. Very simple.
8:17,
Your suggestion about asking questions about the superintendent’s performance is a good idea. Here are some questions that should have been answered by each board member along with a rating scale for job performance.
RATING SCALE
A) EXCEEDS CRITERIA
B) MEETS CRITERIA
C) HAS NOT MET CRITERIA
D) CANNOT JUDGE
QUESTIONS
1) The superintendent works with the school board to develop and implement policies that define the organizational expectations.
2) The superintendent oversees the day-to-day operations of the school district.
3) The superintendent functions as the primary instructional leader for the school district, relying on support from staff as necessary when advising the school board.
4) The superintendent selects, inducts, supports, evaluates, and retains quality instructional and support personnel.
These are only a few of the questions the school board should be asking about the superintendent’s job performance. Perhaps this blog should be more professional in evaluating leadership performance.
According to Elaine Cappucci's President Report, Tim's new goals were to be posted after the meeting. So far, nothing. I wonder how long after the meeting.
Also, I checked the Extra Mile Award link on the MTLSD website, and the last award posted was from January.
No Superintendent reports. No president's reports. Awesome.
Elaine
Another thing, I loved how the Policy Committee had nothing to report. Talking about the busted teens allowed to walk at Graduation is a good start.
Elaine
I don't see any interrogative sentences or question marks in 6:43's comment.
How about Mr. Huston's questions?
Why didn't Dr. Timmy answer them, especially since he posted them on his blog in the first place?
Why didn't anyone on the board ask Dr. Timmy about his two questions?
Shouldn't he have been prepared to answer them?
The student editors of the Devil's Advocate deserve a great deal of credit for their editorial of 28 September 2012. These kids do indeed know an empty threat when they see it. The so called "adults" in the District and on the school board would be well served by attending a class in ethics, taught by these perspicacious high school students.
Congratulations on a job well done - and keep it up!
Mr. Huston is obviously mentally "challenged". Dr. Steinhauer was keeping this in mind when he answered Mr. Huston.
I hesitated about publishing this. How do you know what Timmy was keeping in mind when answering? Unless you are Timmy. I do know how many times you check the blog, Timmy. And you need to be fired if you are writing crap like this.
Elaine
The 11:14 AM is the third comment of its kind in the past couple of months. Based on the others, they came from a board member or from Timmy himself. When David Huston questioned the post it note at a previous meeting, Timmy acknowledged receiving David's email and said that he thought it was another one of his odd emails. At that meeting, Timmy agreed to sending David an explanation the following day. To my knowledge, those questions were never answered.
I am certain that previous comments came from that side of the camera. David Huston does a great service for this community by recording all the District meetings. I won't go to them anymore.
Timmy, you should be ashamed of yourself. David deserves a response from you. In fact all of you should be ashamed of yourselves for not responding to emails that have been sent by your constituents.
You don't keep up your website. You hide information from us. You ignore us.
Elaine
I just got an email from someone who couldn't believe how Remely and Birks were cackling during David's comments.
Also, you don't enforce policies. Spineless bullies.
Elaine
Birks was caught rolling her eyes when Mr. Goldman was asking why the Board votes on in-force staff contracts every year. Too bad Birks wasn't taught good manners as a child.
Proud Mary keep on rollin'.
I've seen that behavior on the Board as well. It's a refleciton of the lack of leadership with that body.
Birks is a member of the Revenue Generating Committee. How will she raise funds by showing her contempt for the public?
The race for president: Obama the Clueless
By The Tribune Review
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 3:14 p.m.
Updated 11 hours ago
Yes, CNN’s Candy Crowley was in the tank for President Barack Obama during Tuesday night’s second debate. Did anyone expect anything less?
And, yes, the president affirmed his weak grasp on foreign policy with his flaccid defense of the Benghazi mess (with an unbecoming “save” from Ms. Crowley). Expect that flaccidity to reach new limpness in Monday night’s third and final debate concentrating on foreign affairs.
Oh, and Mr. Obama, when directly asked, twice, could not articulate with any cogency why the electorate should give him four more years in office.
Thus, the biggest takeaway from this week’s debate is that this president continues to be clueless. And it was a cluelessness most graphically exemplified with his resolve to continue pursuing a national industrial policy.
Obama touted the saving of General Motors. But GM is in such growing trouble that more than a few analysts predict it will be forced to return to bankruptcy next year.
And he also promised to triple down on “green” energy projects — the very same policy that has predictably failed. Think of Solyndra and, just this week, another government-approved and -backed enterprise that went belly-up — electric car battery maker A123 Systems Inc.
There’s not enough rhetoric (or debate moderators’ assists) to save Obama’s presidency. The polls are reflecting that. And the electorate will affirm those polls on Nov. 6.
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