On Monday, December 3, the Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors will be electing their new president and vice president during their Reorganization Meeting. The agenda has been published and can be found here.
My favorite reorg. meeting was held in December 2009. Fighting, lying, name-calling - it had it all. I watched it on TV and could not believe what I was seeing. It was the first time I tuned into a school board meeting. Ahh, those were the days.
The following year, Josephine Posti got everyone in line and won the president's seat. That meeting was definitely a 180 from the previous year.
Posti won again in 2012. Will she go for three? Will she leave kicking and screaming? Will Larry "I'm excited" Lebowitz steal the crown? Will Proud Mary be rollin', rollin' her way to the top? Will Vice President Cappucci go on to be president or will she end up being stunned as Josephine was on December 3, 2007 when Mark Hart was elected? Stay tuned...
22 comments:
No matter who wins we all lose.
As they say-
You can't tell the players without a scorecard.
Who voted for the $113 million renovation?
Who voted for substantial administrative raises?
Who supports the JMA?
Who wants turfed fields?
Any more important issues we should know the. batting averages on?
Elaine
I had never been as upset with the board as I was that night. It's one thing to vote someone down but the women (besides Ms. Stipanovich) all attacked. They tore the. Board apart that night!
Unfortunately, that behavior is making its way over to the Commission.
Elaine
School Board meetings are like a kangaroo court, and the commission meetings are catching up given the behavior of one Commission in particular. It's laughable.
One individual does not a commission make!
One individual does a school board make!
"FOR THE BOARD"
10:16 PM. The Commission used to be respectable. It is going downhill quickly.
Elaine
There are 6 men and two pretty opinionated woman on the board. Are you saying one person runs roughshod over them all?
8 people bow to one, I don't believe it.
Only one of those men is anatomically correct.
Does it really matter who is elected board president? Look at the votes on various issues over just the past year, and you'll find little difference of opinion. The only person on the board who has shown any conscience is Mr. Goldman, and he has little chance of being elected.
Frankly, I don't blame board as a whole for anything they do; they are simply acting in character. It is the majority of the minority of Mt. Lebanon residents that bothered to vote who put them in their seats. That, as I have been told countless times, was the "wish of the community." But be careful what you wish for - you might get it.
The commission needs to deal with it's problem, credibility is sinking fast. The school board looks like a bunch of bullies.
http://lebosbupdates.blogspot.com/2009/12/proud-no-more.html
The report from one of those on the board at the time.
Here is the post,
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009
Proud No More
Last night was the the reorganization meeting for your Mt Lebanon School Board. Typically, this type of meeting does not amount to much more than a procedural meeting with Board members simply casting their votes for who their want their next leadership team to be. Last night was different.
When I was younger and played sports in high school and then in college, it was always a given that every member of the team was to be on their best behavior at all times. When we traveled we would wear ties and when we stayed in hotels our coaches would even check our hotel rooms before we checked out to make sure we cleaned them up. We were part of a team and when you are part of your team your actions are a reflection of the entire team. When even a single teammate out of 40 would leave his hotel room a mess he is implying that the entire team is a mess. All the players understood this simple lesson. Unfortunately, last night we had far too many board members leave their hotel room a mess.
Its been kind of a running joke in my house the last two years that the first words out of my mouth when I would meet someone were, "Hi, I'm James Fraasch and I am on your Mt Lebanon School Board". And honestly, in some respects this is true. I do this because I have always been proud to be on the board and more than that, I have been proud of the trust that was given to me by the community when they voted me into office in 2007. Being a board member is not a responsibility I take lightly. Heck, I even changed jobs in 2008 to allow me more time for school board related activities. Every board member spends far too many nights away from kids and family while attending committee meetings, high school meetings, community forums, and regular and discussion meetings to not take this position seriously.
The Board is not a reality TV game show. It should not be a place where board members decide to publicly air their dirty laundry about their gripes and grievances against other board members. It should not be place where board members can publicly make up unfounded accusations and level them against other board members. It should not be a place where parents have to put their hands over their kids eyes and ears because some of the behavior that goes on is so reprehensible and distasteful that the parent just doesn't want their child to see that adults can behave this way.
Over the course of the last few weeks leading up to last night's meeting I have received phone calls and emails from just about every member of the board. These phone calls and emails always were invariably about how each of these individual members wanted to build trust amongst board members, how they wanted to reach across the divide, how they wanted to bring honesty and integrity to the board, and how they wanted to get the community to trust the board. There were literally dozens of emails and phone calls and hours and hours of conversation regarding these topics.
I ask you with all sincerity whether after watching that meeting you felt any of the ideas mentioned in the above paragraph actually were reflected in the meeting. Watch the meeting and see for yourself who and what is causing the divide.
I woke early this morning hoping that I would feel different about the meeting than I did six hours ago. But I don't. I am embarrassed that the meeting last night is a reflection on all of Mt Lebanon and that I was a member of a team that had individuals leave their room a mess.
The behavior displayed last night by your board is not what the voters of Mt Lebanon expect from their elected leaders.
James
The women either drive 'em to drink or the men quit the School Board prematurely !
Once again SB President has posted an article on education this time from New Hampshire. The article she directs her readers to:
"Welcome to Advancing New Hampshire Public Education
American students have improved substantially, in some cases phenomenally. In general, the improvements have been greatest for African-American students, and among these, for the most disadvantaged. The improvements have been greatest for both black and white 4thand 8th graders in math. Improvements have been less great but still substantial for black 4th and 8th graders in reading and for black 12th graders in both math and reading. Improvements have been modest for whites in 12th grade math and at all three grade levels in reading."
There are a couple of red flags in the article. The author claims in his first sentence: "American students have improved substantially, in some cases phenomenally. "
But in his last sentence of the very same paragraph, he writes: "mprovements have been modest for whites in 12th grade math and at all three grade levels in reading."
So is the article hyperbole?
Are there phrnomenal or even substantial improvements or are they something less? And how does this relate to the increases in spending?
What I find humorous is that Posti has told us that she and the board "rely" on our administrators guidance.
Is this a case where someone is trying to convince the board that the cost of educating our kids is a smart and Jo is buying it hook, line and sinker?
I could believe otherwise if she offered up the Gates Foundation info or did an investigation of test results vs spending right here in little old Lebo.
But as usual we get none of that.
It wouldn't be so disconcerting if Jo applied some math and related to our own district!
In my opinion that's why need a "thinker" - say Goldman as board president.
Three other board members in line for president that fail to impress this blogger.
Dan Remely, that napkin 'lecture' comparing a renovation only to the Celli plan still leaves a bad taste.
Cappucci, whom after hearing a substantial presentation from the CAC architects and construction pros, critical of the Cdlli plan and arguing for saving building C had no intention of revisiting the plan.
Birks, whom declared prior to the Act 34 hearing her vote on the project. The hearing's purpose was for her to hear concerns from her constituents. The board doesn't need a leader that can't listen.
So that leaves us with 6 other candidates. I'd love to hear other residents views.
Whoever is chosen to be the temporary president tomorrow eliminates that person as a contender. That person does not want to be president. In February, four school board members will be up for reelection. Remely, Ostergaard, Posti, and Birks. Traditionally, if one of those individuals seeks the presidency, they usually lose the election.
I don't think Cappucci is up for it. She was very nervous when she filled in for Posti. Goldman doesn't have any support. Kubit was president already. Besides, he is on Brumfield's Sports Advisory Board. That leaves Cooper and Lebowitz. My guess it will go to the outsourcer, Lebowitz. Whoever it is, the first order of business should be to bring back the audit and finance committee.
Elaine
Oh crap! Rather than excited, I'm depressed.
EG:
Perhaps Mr. Remely will forgo reelection to make a run for the 42nd District General Assembly seat as a Republican candidate, opposing Dan Miller. That would certainly be good news for Mr. Miller!
I think anyone from the school board running against Miller would be good news for Miller.
8:55, even better news if they resign from the school board first.
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