By reading Posti's report from last night's meeting, I see that she is taking a more cooperative stand with the municipality.
Later this month, the Commission will be taking action on developing a new ad hoc committee designed to review Mt. Lebanon’s available fields as well as the needs that the various local athletic organizations have for field space. This committee will be made up of representatives from the Municipality, each of the field sport organizations as well as representatives from the District. Should this committee’s development be approved by the Commission, I’ve asked Mr. Grogan, Mr. Marciniak and Mr. Kubit to serve on the committee.Josephine Posti forgot to mention how she had cheerfully invited the commissioners to the school board community coffees rather than having a Joint Discussion Session. She is much too busy and requires an agenda to determine if it is worth her time. Josephine also failed to bring up how difficult it has been for the commissioners to discuss the Joint Maintenance Agreement with the board members.
This is just one of the many ways the two local taxing bodies work together on a regular basis to realize cost efficiencies, share resources and provide support to each other. In addition to this committee, representatives from both taxing bodies serve on our Strategic Planning Committee, the Municipality’s Comprehensive Planning Committee, the Environmental Sustainability Board, our Safety and Security Committee and the Municipality’s Economic Development Council. Our staff work together to coordinate field maintenance, fuel purchase, winter maintenance, photocopying and printing, interoffice mail delivery, fire safety, police and fire training, pedestrian safety, drivers training, contracted services, recreation, parking and communication. We also work together on programs like School in the Park and Arts in the Park regularly and have realized cost efficiencies for things like joint elevator maintenance in the past when it was cost-efficient to do so.
Additional areas of potential cooperation might include contracting District employees for things like HVAC and Building Automation controls, janitorial services, shared purchasing and fleet management. As contracts are renegotiated in future years, these opportunities and others might be explored. We’ve worked with the Municipality over the years to realize cost and service efficiencies that benefit our residents and are grateful for such a collaborative relationship with their employees and elected officials.
36 comments:
Wow! What power! I am sure that the school board directors and the commissioners go to bed every night asking, “what would Elaine think?”. Your ego is incredible.
Thank you.
I see it differently, more like people should be doing their jobs.
Elaine
The podcasts from last night's school board meeting have been uploaded. It is in two parts.
Elaine
9:12 Elaine runs circles around the school board directors and the commissioners. She has no staff to assist her in 'keeping the community informed'...
How about acknowledging her efforts while you read her Blog.
she's trying to be more cooperative because next year her seat is up. When someone finally gets rid of her, that collosal ego she's been carying around will shatter. I would strongly advise people to keep holding her feet to the fire lest we let her get away with yet another 100 million dollar screw-up.
Two comments:
(1) Ellen you appear to be very bitter. Why the constant sarcasm?
(2) You say "people should be doing their jobs" ... The word "jobs" certainly implys payment. The school directors are volunteers. Is it right to be so constantly critical of community volunteers?
The District has a fiduciary obligation to its taxpayers to provide public information on its public website, and to make that information available in a timely manner. A six-months delay is not timely.
11:08 AM,
Two comments
(1) The name is Elaine, not Ellen.
(2) Don't give me that volunteer crap. Steinhauer makes $157,000 a year plus benefits. Cissy Bowman and Chris Stengle are well compensated for their efforts. There is no excuse for not maintaining the website.
Elaine
11:08 aren't you being critical of a community volunteer?
Elaine emails her commissioner "Your behavior is appalling. You are hostile to those who do not share your viewpoints. May I remind you of your values as posted on your website" then whines when they respond to her in a more civil tone than she uses.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar is something that has never been considered by Elaine.
I think that Elaine should run for the school board next year. That way people can demonstrate exactly what they think of her opinions and ideas.
Sorry, but I would never run for SB. Do you really need me to run for people to demonstrate exactly what they think of my opinions and ideas? You do a great job bashing me here. Let me remind you, I do not have any effect on your standard of living. I don't raise your taxes. I don't make policies. I am not responsible for your stormwater fees, parking fees, or salaries. I give you the opportunity to voice your opinion anonymously. Can you say that of any of our elected officials?
Also, you can catch more flies with sh*t than you can with honey.
Let's not lose focus here. I am only the messenger. I make no decisions which may have an impact on your lives or your wallets.
Chip, I hope you do learn my name some day.
Elaine
The District hides what it doesn't want you to see until the votes are lined up to pass their ideas. If the public is in the dark, so much the better because the Board takes no flack.
If you don't think the Board hides ideas just think back to the missing Agenda with the superintendent's raise at 4%.
Think about the fact that the teachers are averaging 4.15% over five years and the Superintendent only received 4%. That leads to salary compression over time. The Superintendent's raise should have been higher than the teachers increase but the Board hid the superintendent's salary information from the public until the night of the vote. That was not transparent and it was not honest. Hiding the raise information was the act of cowards - but what else should you expect from Posti?
We can only hope the Board has the good sense to elect an honest president.
12:33 Mr. Gideon and Elaine are right. Steinhauer and staff make very good money and there reports should be more timely. If he's got time to blog fortune cookie-like philosophy and post pictures of concrete walls, he's got time and staff to post his reports in less than 6 months. As for the Posti - Gillen comparison. There's nothing Elaine does that cost us any money. Ms. Posti (as well as all board members) on the other hand has he ability to affect our wallets the future of the community.
So her constituents have every right to be critical. Whether she is a volunteer or not has nothing to do with it and if you can't discern the difference between the two you are more the fool.
Since when has it become necessary to favor our representatives with honey?
Plus if the heat is too much for her, perhaps she should get out of the kitchen!
"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority.
It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions.
There are men in all ages who mean to govern well,
but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters . . . . . but they mean to be masters."
- Noah Webster (1758 - 1843)
Don't you just love the brain trust in this community!
11:08 you wrote: "(2) You say "people should be doing their jobs" ... The word "jobs" certainly implys payment. The school directors are volunteers. Is it right to be so constantly critical of community volunteers?"
First- it is implies, not implys, but we'll give you a pass on that one as auto spell check plays havoc with online post for everybody.
You don't get a pass though on your assertion that the word job[s] implies payment.
According to MacMillan Dictionary a payment isn't always implied for something to be described as a job. See definition #3, so get off your high horse.
Job noun
1. a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price: She gave him the job of mowing the lawn.
2. a post of employment; full-time or part-time position: She was seeking a job as an editor.
3. anything a person is expected or obliged to do; duty; responsibility: It is your job to be on time.
Jan Cline won the Budget Award again. The application fee for the Award is over $900. In addition the Board will join the Municipality reviewing athletic wants.
Why did we cut the budget last year and not the Budget Award fee and more athletic nonsense? How many teachers will haste to "retire" to make up for the board's wasteful spending?
Will we increase class size to kiss up to the athletic wants in Club Lebo?
This ad hoc committee that Ms. Posti writes about. Of course this group will be unbiased and objective when it comes to analyzing the fields needs here... right?
Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!
Why is the board concentrating on athletics instead of the science PSSA scores?
I would think Marciniak and Kubit have their hands full right now with the high school renovation and next year's budget.
3:38 better yet, two moms complained about the math program at last week's board meeting. I also believe the test scores showed a drop in some areas. Doesn't seem to be any rush to form an ad hoc committee to deal with the moms' concerns.
338, Moms aren't as important as bragging rights on PSSA scores.
Hide"Importance [of Critical Thinking]
Critical thinking is an important element of all professional fields and academic disciplines (by referencing their respective sets of permissible questions, evidence sources, criteria, etc.). Within the framework of scientific skepticism, the process of critical thinking involves the careful acquisition and interpretation of information and use of it to reach a well-justified conclusion. The concepts and principles of critical thinking can be applied to any context or case but only by reflecting upon the nature of that application. Critical thinking forms, therefore, a system of related, and overlapping, modes of thought such as anthropological thinking, sociological thinking, historical thinking, political thinking, psychological thinking, philosophical thinking, mathematical thinking, chemical thinking, biological thinking, ecological thinking, legal thinking, ethical thinking, musical thinking, thinking like a painter, sculptor, engineer, business person, etc. In other words, though critical thinking principles are universal, their application to disciplines requires a process of reflective contextualization.
Critical thinking is considered important in the academic fields because it enables one to analyze, evaluate, explain, and restructure their thinking, thereby decreasing the risk of adopting, acting on, or thinking with, a false belief. However, even with knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, mistakes can happen due to a thinker's inability to apply the methods or because of character traits such as egocentrism. Critical thinking includes identification of prejudice, bias, propaganda, self-deception, distortion,misinformation, etc. Given research incognitive psychology, some educatorsbelieve that schools should focus on teaching their students critical thinkingskills and cultivation of intellectual traits.[citation needed]
Socratic method is defined as "a prolonged series of questions and answers which refutes a moral assertion by leading an opponent to draw a conclusion that contradicts his own viewpoint."[17] Critical thinking skills through Socratic method taught in schools help create leaders. Instructors that promote critical thinking skills can benefit the students by increasing their confidence and creating a repeatable thought process to question and confidently approach a solution. Students also accomplish follower-ship skills that can be used to probe the leader's foundations. Critical thinking skills through Socratic method serve to produce professionals that are self-governing. However, Socratic method for critical thinking skills can become confusing if an instructor or leader uses the method too rigidly, the student may not know what the instructor or leader wants from him. An instructor or leader may disillusion the students if he uses particular style of questioning. Instructors must reveal their reasoning behind the questions in order to guide the students in the right direction. "Socratic method can serve twenty-first-century leaders to instruct students, mentor protégés, motivate followers, advise other leaders, and influence peers."
The school board influenced by the administration and teachers' union abhors critical thinking in my opinion and that explains why the disdain for Elaine's blog.
Yes 3:38, lets form an ad hoc committee b/c 2 mom's complained. We should have about 3,000 different adhoc committees by the end of this school year.
Which brings us right back on topic. I am listening to the November Parks Advisory Board meeting which I got through a RTK. The new ad hoc committee designed to review fields is because of a couple of dads who complained. I will be posting it on my website. It is difficult to hear, but it does get progressively louder as the meeting continues.
Elaine
4:16 I believe if you look very closely at the PSSA test results you will find several areas in which scores fell in the district 2012 to 2011. Unfortunately for some unknown reason I can't access the information now or I'd point you to the results.
But that's OK you have every right to defend the school district's infatuation with athletics over academics.
4:16 yep you're right, why waste time with ad hoc committees. The last one I remember, the CAC, comprised of people with experience in architecture and construction, advised the school board to not tear down building C and To pursue a more responsible renovation.
But how did the board take to the committees recommendations?
They knew better. They were confident that the Celli design would come in close to $95 million and there was no way it would exceed $100 million.
So by all means, let's not waste time with ad hoc committees especially one where we already can predict their findings.
I forgot to mention the 20% storm water fee discount arrangement that the municipality has with the school district. It is a shame that the YSA board is moving forward. The joint discussion session was a one-hit wonder. The Mellon turf idea was tossed around at that meeting. The YSA made a pitch for turf at Middle and Wildcat as part of a rec bond or the unassigned funds. I can predict the outcome of this ad hoc committee consisting of sports people, staff, a certain elected official who had a hand in getting new turf for the high school (Did he look at it?) and Brumfield, who was the one who shared his vision about turfing a middle school field at that one-hit wonder. Very transparent. I can see right through it.
Elaine
I recommend the new ad hoc committee keep their meeting brief and just purloin the Nike ad campaign slogan...
"Just Do It!"
You're not foolin' anybody guys and girls.
The Board had to deal with failing AYP - after JoPo made all that big fuss over funding charter schools that didn't make AYP - then spent little time on crappy science scores.
They also tried to talk the parents to death when they complained about the elementary math program. The Super even offered to share a confidential board report with the parents just to shut them up. He didn't even ask them to file the customary 35-day RTK request. Is he really growing up?
Little was said about how many teachers would "retire" or how big the class sizes would be because of the new athletic committee, nor how the District got a 20% discount on the storm water fee - must have been a great phone call with a commissioner who denies he was part of the Build Our Schools Now hooligans.
Right off the bat, I think we have a problem. Brumfield is calling it an advisory board while Posti is calling it an ad hoc committee. Ad hoc committees have a specific objective and then dissolve. Boards do not.
Originally, the ad hoc committee was to be charged with fundraising for turf. Now it is to review Mt. Lebanon's available fields as well as the needs of the field sports organizations. Why do we have the Parks Advisory Board? Didn't Kelly do an analysis? Didn't Pashek Associates do this in 2002? http://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-gift-to-this-district.html
Will this replace the previous YSA? Would this give the Mrs. Franklins of the world a voice and release them from any financial commitments by disbanding?
I am suspicious.
Elaine
This is my first posting to your blog.
In the past year, I have noted a pattern with the anonymous comments. A correlation exists between your exposes and the personal assalts you receive as a result. A prime example is with your current blog posting. You question the need for this study, and ultimately receive a barrage of criticism aimed directly at you. You stay the course, despite the grenades hurled in your direction.
Thank you for your tireless efforts and the freedom of anonymous comments such as mine to be posted without the fear of retribution.
Thank YOU, 9:21 AM. That first comment can be daunting. You did fine. Welcome!
Elaine
9:21 as a "new" participant I'd love to read what brought you here, more of your observations and any ideas or suggestions you might offer to the debates.
Anything you might contribute may be of value in getting even more proletariat to participate or take an active role in local politics/elections.
Wow, I can't believe it... I typed or at least thought I did, "people" and proletariat pops up. While it could be a possible substitution it was by no means intended.
Anonymous said...
Jan Cline won the Budget Award again. The application fee for the Award is over $900. In addition the Board will join the Municipality reviewing athletic wants.
Marge Sable said that the awards being given to Jan Klein are ones from organizations she belongs to and the school district pays dues to and of course they pay the fees to apply for the awares given by these organizations. How can it be a real award when you belong to the organization, pay dues and fees to get the awards.
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