Building Use Fees

The following eblast went out today to close to 100 people. If you did not receive this email from Josephine Posti, perhaps you can contact her with your feedback.

From: joposti@yahoo.com
Subject: Building use fees
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:35:35 -0400

All,

This year, the school board is considering a number of budget reductions as well as revenue generators to help close the budget gap created by reduced State and local revenue. The 2012-13 budget is currently about $1.9 million out of balance. In addition the teachers union has filed a grievance that could result in approximately $900,000 of exposure for the district. In addition to the reductions being considered, the board is also considering a millage increase and use of a portion of our fund balance in order to close this gap.

This morning Mr. Goldman, Mr. Ostergaard and I hosted the first of several community coffees the board plans to have in order to get additional feedback about these difficult decisions. Because one of the revenue generators we are considering is charging fees to groups such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts for use of school buildings I wanted to get your feedback. 

If we were to start charging fees for use of the buildings how would this impact your troop?  The board has not yet discussed what such a fee would look like and whether it would be something nominal such as $10 per hour or whether it would be the actual cost of the electricity and custodial services provided. Would your troop be willing to pay a fee to use the school buildings for troop meetings and activities or would you need to find another location? Are you involved with other activities such as Odyssey of the Mind that could also be impacted if we were to implement this practice?

Our next budget discussion is Monday night and we will have several more board meetings before adopting a final budget in day. I would love to hear your feedback between now and then on this and other reductions being considered. Please take a look at the most recent reduction list the board is considering:

http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/budgetmeetingdocuments.asp

We will continue to update this list as discussions develop during the next two months.

Thanks for your feedback,

Jo Posti
Sent from my iPad

Getting ready for the first coffee?

Tomorrow morning, the first community coffee will be from 9-11 a.m. at the Uptown Coffee on Washington Road. Residents will be able to sit down with Josephine Posti, Dale Ostergaard and Scott Goldman in an informal setting. Ask questions.  Share your concerns.
From Josephine Posti's Center Court blog,

Finally, a grievance filed by the Mt. Lebanon Education Association could cost our community an additional $900,000. While we do not agree with their position, we must reduce costs to account for that potential liability. Hopefully, this issue can be resolved prior to arbitration but a hearing and award may not be known until after the 2012-13 budget is adopted.

Why isn't it being disclosed that the grievance is a recurring cost? I know I heard the solicitor say that it is recurring, but I have yet to see that anywhere in print. Not on the "unofficial blog of Mt. Lebanon School Director Josephine Posti" or in any newspaper. That might be a question for tomorrow's coffee.

Also from her blog,

We've gotten some great feedback about those reductions from members of the community, including students. We hope to hear more between now and May when we adopt a final budget.

Here is my contribution:

---

From: egillen476@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 10:16 AM
To: School Board Email list
Subject: parking fees

Board directors,

I am still watching the special budget meeting, but I do have a suggestion for charging student parking fees fairly. When a child is on the free or reduced lunch program, the guidance department is able to waive SAT and ACT testing fees, as well as some application fees for colleges. If you are concerned about some students' families going through hard times, perhaps you would consider waiving the parking fees for those financially disadvantaged students. It can be done quietly and without embarrassment to those families.

Elaine Gillen

---

I never got a response from Josephine. She might be praying for me, but she is not emailing me.  Thankfully, I did get a response from one board director, Bill Cooper.  Thanks, Bill.

RE: parking fees

From: William Cooper <WCooper@mtlsd.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 27, 2012 12:16 pm

Dear Ms. Gillen,

I agree and suggested at the meeting that there be an Angel Fund for that purpose.

Bill Cooper

---

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Did you buy your Mega Millions ticket?

I just came back from getting a lesson on how to play.  For those of you out there like me who have never played before, it is a buck.  For a multiplier, it is another buck.  Don't ask me what that means. 
Here is what I plan to do, if I win.  Before PK contacts me, I would want certain people to resign from the board and administration. I would want an apology from the VOICE people. I would want an apology from board members, past and present. I would want the community service coordinator's job protected. Heck, I would want all the jobs protected. I would want an apology from the sports bullies. I would want the District to pay for their own *#!@ fields and let the Municipality use their funds for Municipal assets.
For all that, I would give a million dollars of my $540 million jackpot (provided nobody else wins!)

Country's Oldest Amateur Photography Club - is right here in Lebo!

The Photographic Section of the Academy of Science and Art of Pittsburgh is 127 years old and many of the members are residents of Mt. Lebanon.  The country's oldest amateur photography club meets three Tuesdays a month, right here at the Mt. Lebanon Rec Center.   During the summer, they meet informally outside of Panera's.

In today's PG, Molly Born had a nice article about the camera club. More than a century of life through their lenses

Saving money USC style

While our school board was debating about eliminating towels at the athletic facility at the stadium (#29), Upper St. Clair was exploring increased class sizes.

The USC School District is researching what—if any—classrooms it can increase in size to save money on staffing.
Administrators presented information to the school board Monday night.
"We're not talking about increasing class size because we want to, but because we might need to," said Rebecca Stern, school board president.

In addition, the USC superintendent and finance director were receptive to pay freezes.  I didn't hear what number Steinhauer's and Klein's pay freeze was on "the list." Maybe they were number 39 and 40.  It is a shame that the rest of the list is confidential.

Another hot topic in USC was athletics. Superintendent O'Toole said there has been no decrease in athletic participation since the pay-to-play fees were introduced at the beginning of the school year. The district received $60,000 in fees.

Don't miss this in the USC Patch:
New Baker Elementary Principal
Patrick McClintock-Comeaux will become the new Baker Elementary principal on April 9...

McClintock-Comeaux is currently the principal of Stephen C. Foster Elementary School in the Mt. Lebanon School District.

He is an Upper St. Clair High School graduate and was a teacher and curriculum leader in the Upper St. Clair School District from 1995 to 2001

Read more: USC school board explores increasing class sizes

Above the line...below the line

Josephine Posti explained that entire "list" is confidential out of respect to the staff cuts below the line. I guess there is no respect for the 13 staff cuts above the line.  I did hear that one elementary school only has 239 students, while another school has over 400 students.

It seems as though that $900,000 grievance is not a one time thing. If the MLEA wins the grievance, it will be a recurring cost, until all 16+ steps are covered.  The board was hoodwinked.  Dan Remely, as other board members, was under the impression that the grievance was a one time cost.  Mr. Peterson had to explain that the grievance includes long-term subs who started at Step 1.  The District's exposure to this grievance includes 100 teachers. It could be a recurring cost for 14 or 15 years.

I am still watching the meeting, but I understand that Jennifer Kline, as well as the other students who spoke, did an excellent job.  These comments can be heard towards the end of Part 2 of the podcast.   I hope the school board understands how important the role of the community service coordinator is to the students.

Update March 28, 2012 1:04 P.M. Almanac article, "Mt. Lebanon eyes staff cuts"  (saved in Google Docs)

A group of about a dozen students also turned out in defense of high school community service coordinator Judith Kolko, presenting a petition with more than 800 signatures.

"Her contributions to the school and all of Mt. Lebanon are immeasurable," explained high school student Jennifer Kline. "Many students were visibly confused and outraged that this option is even on the table."

The audio clip of high school student Jennifer Kline's comments can be heard here. Yes, Jennifer, the school board priorities need to be reexamined!  Bravo on getting signatures from half the student body for your petition!!!

mtl Magazine mystery solved!

Susan Morgans stopped me at the commission meeting this evening to say that the problem has been resolved concerning the missing mtl Magazines. It turns out that 700 residents, including yours truly, were not receiving mtl Magazine.  The problem was with the homes that shared the same mail route as Castle Shannon residents. The next issue should be coming out the first week in April. If you do not receive the next issue, contact the Public Information Office.
Thanks, Susan for getting to the bottom of this.

New High School Football Coach Hired

The Mt. Lebanon School Board unanimously approved the appointment of Michael J. Melnyk as the new head coach of the Mt. Lebanon High School Football Team and full-time Social Studies teacher at the high school. Mr. Melnyk is currently a social studies teacher and head football coach at Manheim Township School District in Lancaster, PA, having served there since 1999.

http://www.mtlsd.org/district/HeadlineArticle.asp?HLP_ID=1342&HL_ID=1134#1134

P.S. It's Kutztown, not Kuntztown. Unbelievable...
P.P.S. I had copied the announcement from the website with the last phrase, "having served their since 1999." I know.  Wrong "their." It has since been corrected on the District website. I just made the correction on the blog.  Anyway, welcome to Mt. Lebanon, Coach Melnyk!

Read more including comments: New coach for Mt. Lebanon High School football team 

I don't usually post an entire article as a thread, but the following article from The Washington Post showed up just in time for tonight's budget meeting.

‘Rhee Effect:’ Why depending on private cash for reform is a bad idea

By Valerie Strauss

Michelle Rhee was a great fundraiser during the 3 1/2 years she was the chancellor of D.C.’s public schools.

During her tenure, from 2007 until 2010, when she resigned, she persuaded a handful of private foundations to pony up a total of more than $80 million to help cover a three-year labor contract she negotiated with teachers that included a performance-based pay assessment system.

But take a look at what my colleague Bill Turque reported on his D.C. Schools Insider blog:

“With Rhee gone and the three-year foundation commitment up, private largess is considerably more scarce. Grant funds are projected at just $3.8 million for FY 2013, an 82 percent drop. Officials have announced that the cost of the IMPACT bonuses has been passed on to the individual schools.”

Now Rhee has gone on to bigger things, becoming a national school reform advocate with her StudentsFirst organization and a goal to raise $1 billion to push for her agenda.

And back in D.C., the entities that had donated before — the Broad, Arnold, Walton and Robertson foundations — don’t seem to be opening their wallets quite as wide now that she’s gone. As Turque noted, the bonuses that teachers could earn under her IMPACT evaluation system now have to be borne by individual schools.

It is certainly true that public education funds ebb and flow with the health of state and federal budgets, and that programs funded with public dollars can be affected in a downward budget cycle. But that is far different from having private individuals pick and choose pet projects, with the effect, often, of redirecting public money and efforts toward them.

But the problem goes beyond pet projects. Last summer, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that money was so tight in the city budget that he was turning to private philanthropists — including himself — to donate $250,000 each to pay for state standardized testing that had been eliminated. The dangers of depending on rich private citizens to cover such core functions are apparent. “The Death and Life of the Great American School System”:

As education historian Diane Ravitch wrote in her book “The Death and Life of the Great American School System”:

“There is something fundamentally antidemocratic about relinquishing control of the public education policy agenda to private foundations run by society’s wealthiest people. . . . These foundations, no matter how worthy and high-minded, are after all, not public agencies. They are not subject to public oversight or review, as a public agency would be. . . .The foundations demand that public schools and teachers be held accountable for performance, but they themselves are accountable to no one. If their plans fail, no sanctions are levied against them. They are bastions of unaccountable power.”

‘Rhee Effect:’ Why depending on private cash for reform is a bad idea

Seriously, why do we have Cissy?

Why do we have Cissy?  How much does she make?  It never stops.  The coffees are NOT being held at Coffee Tree on Washington Road.  There is no Coffee Tree on Washington Road.  The announcement is shown here (original version before correction found here) and here. Note: The coffee house locations will both be on Washington Road at Uptown Coffee and Orbis (formerly Aldo's Coffee.)
Why can't the District get with the program?  No budget posted along with the agenda tonight. It was posted that the special budget meeting was going to be held in the Jefferson Middle School Library, when in fact it had been moved to the Jefferson Middle School Auditorium.  The Superintendent and Board President Reports are not posted unless I mention them here.  They can't spell Markham for the Odyssey of the Mind teams. The board is voting on the OM trip which is in Philadelphia, but according to a parent here on the blog, it is in the Poconos.
Seriously, folks.  I do this FOR FREE!!!  And they want to eliminate the community service coordinator??

Three words...Are You High?

This morning, Marty Griffin had this to say on KDKA. Marty Griffin
I don't know if he is going to talk about this on his show this morning, but maybe he was "identified" as a potential donor.

Wrapped in Love Foundation

A student of mine told me about Wrapped in Love.  She meets at St. Winifred's monthly to make blankets for cancer patients during chemotherapy treatment. I read the Trib article that was linked on the Wrapped in Love Foundation website, and it touched my heart. I contacted  Darvina Emmerich, the founder of Wrapped in Love, and asked her if she would submit information about her organization.  Please consider joining the Blanket Brigade to make no sew fleece blankets.

Wrapped in Love Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit, volunteer, 501 (c)(3) organization, passionate about a mission we believe is needed. Inspired by the memory of my husband James Emmerich who was always freezing cold and had to carry a blanket with him while undergoing cancer treatment, I found that I was always trying to find a blanket for other patients who were cold, alone or too sick to help themselves. When we are sick we are all children at heart and need comfort! 

Wrapped in Love was created in 2011 and in our first year we distributed over 1,100 blankets!!!! The outpouring of love and response has been overwhelming by all the patients, hospital staff and volunteers. 

We are currently distributing handmade blankets crocheted/knitted, quilts and no-sew fleece tied blankets to patients at Hillman Cancer Center, Magee Women's Cancer Center, St. Clair Hospital, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Forbes Regional Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, UPMC Bethel Park and WHAS Peters Township Patient Care Center.
In September 2011 we opened our first Chapter in Austin, Texas and hope to grow and comfort even more patients in 2012. 

If you are interested in volunteering either as an individual or as a group please contact the organization at 412-983-7274 or visit our website at www.wrappedinlovefoundation.comIf you would like to make a donation to the work of the foundation you may donate online at www.wrappedinlovefoundation.com or by mailing a check to: Wrapped in Love Foundation, Inc., PO Box 13486, Pittsburgh, PA 15243

Darvina Emmerich
President
Wrapped in Love Foundation, Inc.
412-983-7274

The links were fixed!

I guess it pays to pick on the district website. The links were fixed. Tomorrow, the school district will be holding a special budget meeting in the Jefferson Middle School Auditorium. The preliminary budget has not been updated since the December 12 school board meeting.

Forecasted Preliminary Budget for 2012-13 dated 12-08-11
PDE 2028 Preliminary General Fund Budget

Unfortunately, the home page still shows the meeting being held in the library. Darn...we were so close to having it right!!!

Update 03/25/12 9:45 p.m. Here is a quote for the school board directors.

“Government at the state level and government at the local level need to keep in consideration the people who pay the bills and stop demanding they give more.”

PSEA's report says schools are at risk of bankruptcy

Update 03/26/12 11:10 a.m. The home page has been updated to show that the budget meeting will be held in the Jefferson Middle School Auditorium. How about eliminating the PIO for the school district instead of the community service coordinator? The move is further away from the student and the savings would be greater.

Does this sound familiar?

Although a $6 million fundraising target within that campaign was set for the building, donors were told in campaign materials that they could earn name recognition by "creating endowed scholarships, rather than for supporting the convocation center as a capital project."

This is a quote from CalU fundraising for center ineffective. One of our school board directors teaches at California University of PA. Cal U set a goal of $6 million and to date has only collected $3,000 in private donations.

When told Friday of the amount of private donations raised by CalU, state. Rep. Joseph Markosek, D-Monroeville, minority chair of the House Appropriations Committee, expressed surprise the project progressed with so little university fundraising, especially in a bad economy in which there is concern about mounting public university debt.
"I think any reasonable person would raise an eyebrow and want to know more of the details and ask some tough questions," he said. "This is a situation I think deserves more scrutiny."

This situation deserves more scrutiny?  State Rep. Markosek, you should see what we are doing in Mt. Lebanon!!!

Three meetings...all on the same night

Mt. Lebanon needs to schedule more meetings for Monday evening.

1. In a Lebo Alert:

Free Seminar on the Allegheny Co. property tax assessment appeal process, 7 p.m. Monday, March 26, at Mt Lebanon Public Library.

2. The School Board will be holding a special budget meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Jefferson Middle School Auditorium. Agenda is here.

Laurels & Lances On the “Watch List”: The Mt. Lebanon School Board. It's going to spend more than $41,000 on a study to predict the success of a prospective $30 million capital fundraising campaign. Good grief. We'll bet most residents of already tax-strapped Mt. Lebanon don't appreciate the implications of picking their pockets one way to see how amenable they might be to having their pockets picked another way. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_787814.html#ixzz1pxyn5gl0 

3. And finally, the regularly scheduled Mt. Lebanon Commission Discussion Session, 6:25 p.m., and the Mt. Lebanon Adjourned Commission Meeting, 8 p.m., will be held in the Commission Chambers in the Municipal Building.

Update March 23, 2012 7:00 p.m. From Center Court Blog

Time / Location Changes


There are a few location and time changes to some upcoming events. One is a recent change due to anticipated high attendance, one an error by the Post-Gazette and one an error on this blog.


Monday, March 26, 7PM: Due to anticipated attendance, we've moved Monday night's budget meeting to the Jefferson Middle School Auditorium.

Upcoming Community Coffees: The first one will be Saturday, March 31 from 9-11AM at Uptown Coffee on Washington Road. The second will be Wednesday, April 25 from 7-9AM at Orbis Caffe on Washington Road. [So those who were betting on Coffee Tree on Beverly Road lost. It is on Washington Road after all. Uptown Coffee.]

These are all opportunities to share your thoughts on the budget that we will take action on in May. We hope to see you there.

"The List"

No, not THAT list.  This list. The list that Molly Born refers to in today's PG. Staff cuts possible in Mt. Lebanon schools

From Center Court Blog, the March Board Report.

...we have started in-depth discussions concerning next year’s budget. Last month we discussed the possibility of using some of our undesignated fund balance in addition to reductions and a small millage increase in order to close a budget gap of about $2 million for next year in addition to possible exposure from a grievance filed by MLEA for about $900,000. Those reductions could include cuts that may mean possible reductions in payment for supplies and services, paid extra duty assignments and positions vacated by retirees. As we discuss these possibilities, along with any use of reserves or increasing millage, we would like your feedback. Dr. Steinhauer has prepared information about the possible reductions being discussed and it's available here. The next budget meeting will take place at 7PM March 26 in the JMS library.

In addition to public meetings, we’ve scheduled a couple of community coffees during the next few weeks. These are opportunities for you to sit down with a small group of Board members in an informal setting, ask questions, share your concerns and enjoy some time together. The first two coffees will be Saturday, March 31 from 9-11AM at Coffee Tree on Washington Road and Wednesday, April 25 from 7-9AM at Orbis Caffe (formerly Aldo's). I’ll be at the March 31 coffee with Mr. Goldman and Mr. Ostergaard and Mrs. Cappucci will be at the April 25 coffee with Mr. Cooper and Mrs. Birks. No appointment is necessary and we hope to see you there.

Of course, none of this is found on the District website.  You have to go to the unofficial blog to get official information. (Why do we have Cissy Bowman again? I forget.)

Letter to the Board

The following letter to the Mt. Lebanon School Board was sent by blog reader and write in school board candidate, Joe Wertheim.  It is being reprinted with his permission.

To: schoolboard <schoolboard@mtlsd.net>
Sent: Wed, Mar 21, 2012 7:12 pm
Subject: SNAFU

"K-12 education foundations like MLFE are independent, nonprofit organizations..." (MLFE website)

"Regardless of whether or not we get a green light for a campaign we will gain a wealth of information," said board president Jo Posti. "This would be valuable for the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education's annual fundraising efforts." (front page, The Almanac 3-21-12)

So you are willing to roll the dice with $41,000 because "regardless of whether or not we get a green light for a campaign" (highly unlikely) "this would be valuable for the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education" which is an independent, nonprofit organization, says board president Jo Posti.

You were not elected to benefit independent organizations! You were elected to represent the taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon. Of course, you have completely abandonedthe latter, so why would anyone think that you would have second thoughts about the former?

Just when it appears that this board could not be any more out of touch with reality you again prove us wrong. While USC is considering cutting classes and activities, and asking teachers for concessions, you continue to spend money like you actually have it.

Joe Wertheim

http://alleghenyinstitute.org/component/content/article/916-school-district-seeks-answers-.html

What will it take to make you understand reality?

"Redefining Fundraising"

Now that the board has voted unanimously to work with Pursuant Ketchum, here is a case study from their website.  Pursuant Helps Washington National Cathedral Turn Visitors Into Donors

The multichannel strategy for earthquake response generated 848 gifts, averaging at $118 each, with no direct asks. 50 percent of the donations came from first-time donors.

If every man, woman and child living in Mt. Lebanon (MTL 2010 census - pop. 33,137) donated at the average PK Washington Cathedral rate of $118, they would only raise $3,910,166.

A little bit about the man who made the presentation to the board...Elliott S. Oshry, CFR 

Support the retention of the Community Service Coordinator at MLHS

From what I understand, this email is being circulated among parents.  The Student Community Service page from the MTLSD website is located here.

     The Mt. Lebanon School Board has decided to eliminate the Community Service Coordinator job at the High School. Historically, there has only been one CS Coordinator position in the entire District. If this professional staff position is discontinued, there will be no advocate in the school district devoted to promoting volunteerism and encouraging our children's participation in character-building activities.

     Is this the message that you want our School Board members to send to our high school students and to our community?

     Please consider contacting all of the Mt. Lebanon School Board members if you disagree with this proposed budget cut: Mrs. Josephine Posti, Mrs. Elaine Cappucci, Mrs. Mary Birks, Mr. William Cooper, Mr. Dan Remely, Mr. Ed Kubit, Mr. Lawrence Lebowitz, Mr. Scott Goldman, and Mr. Dale Ostergaard. 

     Their collective address is schoolboard@mtlsd.net 

Thank you for your consideration.

Update March 21, 2012 10:15 AM 
Patrick O'Toole, 2012 PA Superintendent of the Year, earns $154,500 as Upper St. Clair's superintendent. Tim Steinhauer, who was hired with no superintendent experience, earns $151,400 plus reimbursed unused vacation days. http://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2011/08/superintendents-raise-and-contract.html
According to the Almanac, USC asks teachers for concessions, (Saved in Google Docs) both Patrick O'Toole and Director of Business and Finance Frosina Cordisco with a salary is $125,452 are setting an example by taking a pay freeze.
Here in Mt. Lebanon, we want to eliminate the Community Service Coordinator. Another bright idea.

Green light for feasibility study

Molly Born, from the PG, writes this morning about last night's unanimous vote to proceed with the feasibility study with Pursuant Ketchum. Mt. Lebanon district to get fundraising study for new high school
Travel expenses were estimated at $3000.  The board discussed capping the travel expenses at $5000. I watched the meeting this morning and thought I heard at one point that the donor, "a community partner,"was going to donate 25% of the study fee, and at a different point in the meeting, the donation was going to be $10,000. Whatever the total donation amounts to, thank you for stepping forward.
As Scott Goldman said at the meeting, "Be careful what you wish for." I bet that comes from experience, right, Scott?  Did you ever think you would be knocking on doors asking for money when you decided to run for director? That is one of the reasons I decided to run for commissioner instead of school board director.  I could not support the project.  Although I would consider a donation if Josephine Posti would resign.

"The Rest of the Story" rest of the story

Over on Josephine Posti's Center Court blog, Josephine writes The Rest of the Story - Superintendent Buy-outs. Curious that it was posted about an hour ago. Gee, would she be one of those people being forced to read my blog? I wrote about that this morning.

Please take a couple of minutes to read her blog. In it, Posti talks about what keeps school boards up at night.  There was no mention of railroading an over-the-top high school renovation without a referendum, ignoring stakeholders, giving raises to administrators left and right, bullying commissioners to do their dirty work or controlling communication. It is odd how she couldn't control communication with Essential Public Radio.

Another concern Posti has is limiting local control over how many police officers to employ, wording of local zoning ordinances, as well as how we hire superintendents. She writes, "What works for Mt. Lebanon may be completely different from what works in South Fayette..." Funny thing about what works in South Fayette. Today's Trib has this article by Matt Santoni. With rapid growth, South Fayette schools running out of room 

Jennifer Iriti, 38, sought a place where she could settle down with her husband and their 4-year-old daughter. They narrowed their choices to Mt. Lebanon or South Fayette. As a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Resource and Development Center, she wanted a good school district.
"In particular, we were looking for places that had really high-quality teachers, teachers who are happy, who are excited about their work," said Iriti, who chose a house in the growing Berkshires subdivision near the school district's campus on Old Oakdale Road. "I actually called some teachers up on the phone, and I was impressed by how much they liked their jobs and the (South Fayette) leadership."
Iriti weighed Mt. Lebanon's more urban, walkable feel against South Fayette's newer homes. She found three- and four-bedroom houses with yards to be less expensive in South Fayette, and still close enough to Pittsburgh via Interstate 79.
With others choosing to live in South Fayette for similar reasons, its schools are running out of room.

Maybe Josephine can donate the rest of her T-shirts and mugs to the Mt. Lebanon Historical Society.  Or try selling them on eBay and add it to the fee for the feasibility study that they will be approving tonight.

She wants to call the shots.

From 90.5 Essential Public Radio, Josephine Posti believes that school boards should be free to make their own decisions. Busting School Board Buyouts I guess the board didn't learn anything from that fiasco.

"Some common sense opposition"

At the March 12 school board meeting, Josephine Posti presented the last agenda item, "Field Use," as a proposal from the Commission to turf and light a middle school's field.

That lead to my latest poll, "SHOULD THE COMMISSIONERS SPEND MUNICIPAL DOLLARS ON MTLSD ASSETS?"

It turns out that there is "some common sense opposition" to Dave Brumfield's idea to turf and light a middle school field.

Kelly Fraasch, Ward 5 Commissioner, asked Gateway Engineers' Dan Deiseroth to put together a review of municipal field alternatives. The review has been posted on the municipal website here.

Kelly has put together a breakdown of the presentation with an explanation.  

Update March 21, 2012 11:15 AM
I didn't know how to add a photo in the comments section, so this is in response to Albert Brennaman's comment about freezing out Mrs. Fraasch.  Look at the body language of the woman "without baggage," Albert.

 

How's this for a study?

A reader sent me this article which appeared recently on Forbes.com. William Pitt (sound familiar?) was quoted as saying, "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it."   Maybe they just get stupid.

Study Finds That Having Power Can Make You Stupid

Do you ever get the sense that the more powerful people get, the more foolish they become? You’re not the only one. Four university professors thought the same thing, and they devised a test to find out if it’s really true. It is, they concluded.

That is, they found that power dependably breeds overconfidence, and overconfidence dependably leads to bad decisions. Nathanael Fast, of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, Niro Sivanathan, of London Business School, Nicole Mayer, of the University of Illinois, and Adam Galinsky, of the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, noticed two well-known instances of calamitous overconfidence among the powerful: Steve Case‘s blithe orchestration of the $350 billion merger of AOL and Time Warner in 2000, and BP‘s massive obliviousness to risks, under Tony Hayward, that led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The four wanted to know, are such overconfident people drawn to power, or does power itself create their overconfidence?

They had subjects write detailed accounts of times when they had had or had lacked power. They then had them answer a series of factual questions and rate how confident they were about their answers. They found that the people who had been primed to think of themselves as more powerful had more confidence in their answers than the rest—and yet their answers were actually less accurate. Yes, “confidence in one’s answers was inversely correlated with accuracy.”

Four follow-up experiments confirmed and expanded the results. The researchers came to a disturbing conclusion:

Not only do overconfident people tend to acquire roles that afford power . . . but the subjective sense of power brought on by these roles causes people to become further overconfident. . . . Finding practical ways to soften and/or hold in check the causal relationship between power and overconfidence represents an important endeavor for future research. Helping the powerful safely escape this perilous aspect of power is not only in the interest of power holders, but is also in the interest of all who are daily impacted by their decisions.

What can you do? One answer, apparently, is to humiliate the powerful. The fifth and final experiment the four conducted found that the tie between power and overconfidence “was eliminated when the powerful were made to feel incompetent.”

The full study is being prepared for publication in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.


Having Power Can Make You Stupid

Once Upon a Right To Know

Blog reader Pam Scott filed an open record request concerning the asbestos abatement at the high school.  Pam asked me to post this on Lebo Citizens.

Now the School District is saying that "a legal review is necessary to determine whether, or to what extent, the records sought are public records subject to access." I have requested copies of documentation that is clearly covered by AHERA because it is part of the District's asbestos management plan: the survey of asbestos-containing material locations that MTLSD gave to Allegheny County Health Department ahead of the current high school renovation project; any further documentation regarding inspection of Building D for hazardous materials "proving" that Building D's 1970s portion "slated for imminent demolition work" [turned out to be March 8, 2012] is free of ACM; and District-wide asbestos fiber-release episodes for 2011 and 2012. The District knows they are wrong and in defiance of AHERA, and they seem to be quite proud of it. The EPA Region III Acting Asbestos Coordinator this afternoon suggested that I urge MTLSD to contact her regarding their AHERA responsibilities.

New poll

I was reminded of this Blog-Lebo post, April 13, 2009 An Ultimatum from Some Athletic Supporters. A follow up post from Mike Madison has links to responses. Summary of School Board Candidates' Positions on Lebo Athletic Facilities

9. Would you support financially a collaborative project with the municipality regarding immediately turfing the field at Mellon in preparation for the High School renovation project?

Here we are three years later, and still getting pressure from the sport groups. With that in mind, I started a new poll. Please take a moment and vote.

Field of Dreams

Hmmm.  When was the Joint Steering/Discussion/Leadership meeting? February 28? We have now gone from Dave Brumfield's idea of turfing and lighting a middle school's field to Josephine Posti's last item, "Field Use" on the March 12 school board meeting agenda, as a proposal from the Commission. How did that happen?
I went back to read the 2012 Manager's Recommended Budget. There are 299 service level rankings. Each "decision package" is listed in order of importance to municipal operations. Steve Feller provides an excellent explanation to his zero base budgeting.  I do not see anything listed for improving District fields. What is interesting to see is what a million plus dollars (cost of lighting and turfing a District field) buys in the municipal budget. The Commission determines the level of service. If a service level is listed as a "1" on the service level rankings, as I understand it, it is considered to be basic service. If a decision package is listed as a S/L 3, then it includes Levels 1, 2, and 3.
On pages 14-19 of the 2012 Manager's Recommended Budget, list the 299 service level rankings. There is a line under number 166, Forestry. Anything above the line is funded.  Anything below the line is not. I believe that means that 133 items did not make the suggested budget.  To put it simply, those items were sacrificed and yet the "Commission" is proposing that they turf and light Mellon or Jefferson field.
Sooo, how is turfing and lighting a District field benefitting the community, Josephine and Dave?  Ding, ding, ding.  That round went to the District.

What to do, what to do

In today's PG, Molly Born writes:

Still undecided on how they will close a nearly $2 million gap, Mt. Lebanon school board directors will hold further talks on the 2012-13 budget later this month.
The board has to decide whether it will vote to increase the property tax rate, dip into reserve funds or cut programs -- and staff -- by its April 16 voting meeting. Most members have called for a combination of two or more of those avenues.

Later in the PG article, the feasibility study is mentioned.

Campaigns of this size usually occur at universities and large organizations, Mr. Steinhauer said last month, but a network of wealthy alumni and engaged residents could be key donors.

Look out, Mark Cuban and Andrew Mason. Something tells me that you will be getting a call.

Mt. Lebanon school board continues to wrestle with $2 million budget gap

Charter a charter

Josephine Posti had a thread on her Center Court blog, Stand Up For Public Education.  She ran article after article about how charter schools are terrible for public education.  Fast forward to Monday's school board meeting.  How do we balance the budget? Number 68 on Dr. Tim's list of suggestions was to close an elementary school. Dan Remely remarked that by renting Mellon to Peters Township, as opposed to selling it, saved us in the end. He wondered if we could turn one into a charter school.  No, we couldn't. Dr. Tim suggested we could charter a charter school. I wish I could have seen Josephine's reaction. That would have been priceless.

Attempted child luring in Mt. Lebanon

From the Upper St. Clair Patch http://upperstclair.patch.com/articles/police-investigate-attempted-child-luring

Police Investigate Attempted Child Luring

A 12-year-old girl in Mt. Lebanon told Upper St. Clair Patch that a man asked her to get into his truck.

• By Becky Brindle
• March 13, 2012

 

The attempted child luring took place on Tuesday, March 13 at the intersection of Maplewood and Pinewood Drives in Mt. Lebanon.

 

Mt. Lebanon police are investigating an attempted child luring in a neighborhood near St. Clair Hospital.

The 12-year-old Jefferson Middle School sixth grader told Upper St. Clair Patch she was near the intersection of Pinewood and Maplewood Drives when she heard a vehicle squeal behind her.
She said an older man in a white truck asked her where she lived and said he'd give her a ride home.
The victim said she had a bad feeling in her stomach and took off running through the neighborhood backyards until she got to her house.
"I just ran away as fast as I could," she said.
Her father was watching television when she came to the back door banging.
"I was like oh my gosh and I was so scared and the cops came," she said.
"She had this look of horror on her face. She was scared, real scared," her father said.
He immediately called 911.
The victim told police that the man wore black sunglasses, was cleanly shaven, had old, wrinkly skin and white hair, with a possible a comb-over.
She said the Mt. Lebanon police were talking with the Upper St. Clair police about a similar incident that may have happened in Upper St. Clair on Tuesday.
The victim's father said he usually picks his daughter up from school, but since there was such nice weather on Tuesday, he let his daughter walk home from her after-school dodgeball practice.
He found the incident especially disturbing because another attempted luring incident happened at the same intersection in October 2010.
"I'm really proud of her. She's very strong-willed," he said of his daughter.
The victim said she plans on trying to walk with a group of kids next time.
Editor's Note: The victim and her father did not want to be identified for the article.

Everyone has a Patch, but Mt. Lebanon.  Why is that?

Did you know...

The district already is deep in debt after borrowing $55 million in 2005 to update its elementary schools and won't start making large payments on that debt until 2017, Fraasch said.

According to a December 4, 2008 article by Matt Santoni, we are in deeper debt than I ever knew!  Maybe I am not alone on this one. I am appalled!
Yeppp, glad there is no baggage on that joint steering committee. Love what Posti said.
Talk about irresponsible - look at Jan Klein's comment.

Mt. Lebanon board member urges postponing school projects

Happy Sunshine Week

Gee, does this happen here? It is Sunshine Week 2012. I had a hard time choosing which editorial cartoon to use from this site. http://www.sunshineweek.org/Toolkits/EditorialCartoons.aspx We all know how the school board president encourages phone conversations.  I did see that the District website has finally updated the superintendent and board president monthly reports. Was it last week when I wrote that the latest reports were October 2011?

Sunshine Week 2012 is March 11 - March 17. The idea behind Sunshine Week is to promote an open government and freedom of information - our right to know. I have forms and procedures listed at http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Right_to_Know.html If anyone needs help, email me at EGillen476@aol.com and I will walk you through the process.

Unfortunately, this law needs some refining, as seen here. PA Right To Know Law protects the crooks, not the people. There are some other ways around transparency, which our local government has figured out. A well known tactic is to phone or text.  There is no way to enforce that. File a RTK asking about all the wonderful communication between the two taxing bodies, as reported by Josephine Posti, and you aren't going to come up with much. Why half the joint steering committee, I mean, the joint discussion committee, or whatever it is being called today, live across the street from each other.  They can stop in the middle of Roycroft and have a meeting.  I don't know what can be done to stop that, but it is what it is. Glad there is no baggage there.

The point to this thread is that it is our right to know what is going on in government. It doesn't stop there.  We also have rights with the PA Public Utility Commission, OSHA, EPA, and other government agencies.
Happy Sunshine Week.

Great Estate Book Sale at Mt. Lebanon Public Library

Great Estate Book Sale at Mt. Lebanon Public Library
Saturday, March 17, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM and Sunday, March 18, 1:30 PM-4:00 PM.

Our library bookshop, The Book Cellar, recently received a large estate gift of 75 boxes of books.
Since it cannot all be absorbed into the shop, we will hold a special sale of more than 2000 absolutely beautiful non-fiction books.
There is an extensive cookbook collection, as well as books on travel, art, history, government, etc.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to add to your personal library!

A few random examples:

American Art: 1750-1800 Towards Independence, ed. Montgomery and Kane--$3

The Spanish Frontier in North America, David J. Weber--$3

Black Forest Cuisine, Walter Staib (autographed copy)--$7


Please join us for this sale!
Thank you for your support of the library!


Friends of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228

Do we need a feasibility study?

According to Wikipedia,  PA Department of Education January 2009 enrollment was 5223. Enrollment is projected by PA Department of Education to decline to 4600 by 2019. Remember Ed Kubit's FAQ from two years ago? He had provided 20 year enrollment projections. He also said that the board was fiscally frugal.  It is a case of laryngitis

I posed this question in that thread:

I have reprinted letters to the editor, comments from Real Lebo, a link to the April 19, 2010 School Board meeting podcast, and the now MIA FAQ from Ed Kubit. Where are these proponents to the high school renovation now?

The answer is that they attend the Joint Discussion sessions. They are on the Review Teams. Look at the presentation made by the Revenue Generating Team. I don't see any feasibility studies considered.  How about the Staff Planning Team?  Nope. Don't see any feasibility studies listed there either. In fact, closing schools and wage freezes comes to mind.

I hope the School Board keeps this in mind during their special meeting concerning the feasibility study and when they vote to move forward with the study.

Wondering where your county tax bill is?

As of last Friday, they weren't even prepared yet! They are supposed to send them out next week. I am not sure if that means this week or a week from tomorrow.  The discount period has been extended through May.

Feasibility study, naming rights, donations, budget, assessments...

As you might have read the legal notice in Thursday's paper, there will be a special meeting on Monday at 6:30 to discuss a feasibility study for a capital fundraising campaign at Jefferson Middle School concerning the high school renovation.

Monday's School Board meeting agenda is packed with items.  The Board will discuss revisions to three policies:

Revisions to Policy FF, Naming Rights
Revisions to Policy KCD, Donations to the School District
Revisions to Policy JLI, School Violence, Terroristic Threats and Terroristic Acts

Also very important topics up for discussion are the 2012-2013 Budget, property assessments, the feasibility study discussed previously, and community field use. 

Stormwater fee on the "Watch List"

On the "Watch List": Mt. Lebanon's stormwater "fee." Now being appealed at the local level on separate grounds by an apartment building owner and the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, the fee that is a tax that is fraught with legal jeopardy is sure to end up in court. If it's a "fee," its application is arbitrary and capricious. If it's a tax, nonprofits are exempt but it violates the Pennsylvania Constitution's Uniformity Clause.



Read more: Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_785555.html#ixzz1oe6dGryq

March 8, 2012 High School Renovation Update

Mt. Lebanon High School
155 Cochran Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228-1381
phone: 412-344-2003 fax: 412-344-2021 email: bmcfeeley@mtlsd.net
March 8, 2012
Dear Parents and Students:
I would like to communicate with you the following important information regarding the high school renovation project.

NEW INFORMATION:
We have been advised that entrances C-14 (South Gym) and C-12 (Fine Arts) will be closed permanently, effective Monday, March 12, due to the construction of the new science wing. The primary alternate entrance to the South Gym will be via entrance A-3. There are no additional changes to the traffic patterns around the high school at this time. As always, please use extra caution when driving around the campus and through campus parking lots. Also, please adhere to all signage and/or directions regarding traffic patterns and pedestrian walkways.

REMINDERS:

• Per a previous communication, after the start of the regular school day (after 8:15am), students and visitors may only enter entrance C-28. The only access to entrance C-28 is from Lebanon Avenue (North Parking Lot). Visitor parking at this time is only available in the North Parking Lot (Lebanon Avenue). There is no access to entrance C-28 from the south end of the building (i.e., South Parking Lot area). All students and visitors must enter and sign-in through entrance C-28. For security reasons, please do not ask students or staff to open any other door during the school day.
• Students with valid parking permits are only permitted to park in the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church Parking Lot and Dixon Field Parking Lot. Student parking on neighboring streets and the Recreation Center parking lot is not permitted. Illegally parked cars will be ticketed.
• I would like to remind everyone to pay close attention to any construction signage and/or active work-zones around the campus. At times, fences into work-zones may be open for construction vehicles only. Parents, students, staff, and visitors are not permitted to enter these fenced areas at any time.

Thank you for your continued flexibility and cooperation in helping us maintain a safe school environment. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Brian R. McFeeley
Principal

http://ndrive.mtlsd.org/file/?gpppo

Superintendent buyouts: Waste of money and often lack in transparency

Mt. Lebanon made today's Trib article, Legislators target buyouts for superintendents.  Remember the Sable buyout?

The state Senate Education Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would limit the value of buyouts for public school superintendents and require that officials detail severance packages up-front in contracts, instead of allowing school boards to negotiate them at the end.

Does anyone remember if our superintendent's contract details a severance package?

James Fraasch, a former Mt. Lebanon School Board member, said that district board's decision in executive session in 2004 to pay more than $500,000 to buy out former Superintendent Margery Sable was one of the main reasons he sought election in 2006.

"That definitely raised my eyebrows," Fraasch said. "I don't know if this law would have stopped what happened, but it would have been much more difficult to do in the dark," he said, referring to the executive session. "I always felt the more the information the public has the better."

Absolutely, James!  You always believed in transparency. But if you were still on the board, Josephine would be livid with you right now.  Or at least you would have gotten an email asking if there was anything she needed to know about the interview.

PS The people in Scranton are reading about us too! Make buyouts bit less super

Battery Recycling

As discussed at the recent Joint Discussion Session. The School District didn't want to spend $79 for the recycling receptacle.

Lebo Alert:

The municipality is now accepting dry cell batteries for recycling. Please bring batteries to the Customer Service Center at 710 Washington Road. Each battery must have tape over battery terminals (end part) to insure safe shipping.

Batteries We Accept:

Household batteries, both rechargeable and non-rechargeable, such as D-cell, C-cell, AA, AAA, 9-volt, and button cells

Rechargeable battery packs from:
Cell phones, cameras, laptop computers, power tools, etc.

http://mtlebanon.org/index.aspx?nid=2074

Is it hate in my heart?

Or is it just frustration? I filed a RTK in January about student parking at the high school and in it was this email, which was ignored. Since then, I have sent two emails and the only ones to respond were from school board directors, Scott Goldman and Larry Lebowitz. Thank you, Scott and Larry.

Now, to get the President's report, one must go to Josephine Posti's unofficial blog, Center Court. At one time, the School District published the reports here.  But as controlling as this woman is, it is only available on her blog.  Her M.O. is to stay off of official venues such as the district website and using her district email.  Notice how many times, she encourages phone calls.  I have said this before and it is also evident on her district emails that surfaced through the RTKs I filed. To avoid transparency, she was using her PA American Water account since personal accounts were off limits to RTK requests.  In January, that all changed.  I am sure all of her district business will be done through texting and phone calls.  After all, how many times has Josephine mentioned that communication between the two taxing bodies is greater than it has ever been?  Try proving that through a RTK. There isn't much out there now.

Sunday, March 11 marks the beginning of Sunshine Week 2012. I would like to propose a toast, "To transparency."

School Board Schedules Special Meeting

From the School District home page:

School Board Schedules Special Meeting
A special meeting of the Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors will be held on Monday, March 12, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. in the Jefferson Middle School Library to discuss a feasibility study for a capital fundraising campaign.

Raising $30 million might not be a piece of cake for the cake eaters

Front page of the Trib yesterday - Professional solicitors not always best choice for nonprofits

At a time when the Board is optimistic about raising $30 million for the high school renovation, others have not been so lucky.  Look at IUP:

Iowa-based RuffaloCODY raised $1,496,331 for The Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania and gave the foundation $523,055, or 35 cents on the dollar.
Bill Speidel, the foundation's associate vice president of development, said the return satisfied him because the campaign targeted alumni. Most had not contributed to the university and may have attended IUP in the 1960s when it received 70 percent of its money from the state, he said. Now the school gets about 30 percent from the state.

Now the Board will be revisiting the naming rights policy during Wednesday's Policy Committee meeting. Here is Wednesday's agenda:


Agenda
1.  Policy Review
      A.  FF, Naming Rights
      B.  KCD, Donations to the Schools
      C.  KGD, Partnerships and Sponsorships
      D.  KHB, Advertising

2.  Questions and Comments from Residents


I emailed the chair of the Policy Committee to verify the time for Wednesday's meeting. The time has been posted as either 4:30 or 5:00.  Of course, I have not heard back.

Update 11:28 AM Scott Goldman confirmed the time.  The Policy Committee meeting will start at 4:30 PM at Jefferson Middle School Library.  Thank you, Scott, for your response.

Photo Section Salon Open House

The Photographic Section of the Academy of Science and Art of Pittsburgh invites you to its 2012 Photo Section Salon Open House, Sunday, March 11 from 1-4 PM at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center.

Censored AGAIN

On January 20, 2012,  I received this email from Mark Berton, Western Regional Editor of IN Mt. Lebanon magazine.

From: Mark Berton <mark@incommunitymagazines.com>

To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>

Sent: Fri, Jan 20, 2012 7:44 am
Subject: Lebo Copyright Policy


Hi Elaine, We’re working on the spring issue of IN Mt. Lebanon magazine and I was reading about the copyright issue with the district website that you posted. I’d like to offer you a page or two in the spring issue if you would like address this topic since you have Mike Madison’s opinion and have written about it thoughtfully. This is an important issue for anyone in the media and one that, you would think, would negate the necessity of having a district communications coordinator whose sole purpose is to disseminate district information to the public, since the public is not allowed to rebroadcast those disseminations. Let me know your thoughts and I’ll be happy to budget the space to you. Thanks,

Mark Berton

Western Regional Editor

IN Community Magazines

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IN Carylnton-Montour | IN Moon Township | IN Mt. Lebanon | IN Murrysville | IN North Allegheny | IN Norwin | IN Penn Hills

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724.942.0940

mark@incommunitymagazines.com

www.incommunitymagazines.com

Check out our facebook page!

On February 21, I received this from Mark:

"I know it's been a while, but we're working on the Spring IN Mt. Lebanon.
Here's the page layout. Let me know if anything's changed since we last
spoke or if we need to make any changes." 
IN Mt. Lebanon decided to call my article, "Censored Lebo." 

There were some minor punctuation errors and a spacing issue to my two page article, but it was fine otherwise. And if they wanted to call it censorship, then so be it.

Well, I have been "censored" again.  This morning, I got this delightful email:

Hello Elaine

I am Managing Editor for In Mt. Lebanon Magazine.  In the final stages of review of the magazine, we decided to pull the feature that you submitted to us from the Spring edition.  We are trying our best to keep a neutral position in the community regarding the municipality and my decision to pull this editorial was based purely on this stance.

I greatly appreciate you taking time to submit the editorial and hope you understand our position.  If you know of any person or organization who lives or works in the Mt Lebanon Community, whom you think we should be writing about, would you let me know? 

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

With kind regards,

Marybeth Jeffries

Managing Editor

In Community Magazines

603 E McMurray Road

McMurray PA 15317

In Mt. Lebanon magazine was my last hope for unbiased journalism in Mt. Lebanon. I guess it is all about the mighty dollar.