According to the Allegheny County Division of Elections, here is the slate:
For Commission:
Ward 2 Steve Silverman (D)
Jack Doyle (R)
Ward 4 Dave Brumfield (D)
Samantha Scrivner (R)
All School Board Candidates crossfiled. 5 Candidates for 4 seats:
Mary Birks
Durwood Hill
Bill Moorhead
Dan Remely
Mike Riemer
Primary is May 21.
Mr. Hill was Scott Goldman's PTA VP at Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteI am not sold on Scott just yet. I see fits and starts of being a good fiscally disciplined Board member (better than the others but that doesn't say much).
I suspect all five will make it to the November election.
What would happen if we wrote in a candidate for the school board?
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of the four that got the shaft in the last school board election.
I'm not suggesting they campaign or do anything more than accept the seat if they garnered enough votes.
Looking at the 5, there are two that will absolutely not be getting a vote from me.
I think there should be a whole slate of write-ins. why keep recycling the same old tax and spend mentality..
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could save running an election and pull eligible residents' names from a hat.
ReplyDeleteIt's then their turn to sit on the board... Kind of like jury duty.
Could the representation be any worse? :-)
I suppose the good news is that we have two incumbents who are not running so we are going to get at least two fresh faces on the Board.
ReplyDeleteDale's time on the board was very disappointing. I expected something and we got someone who followed. I can say that he was warned because I did warn him that he would get sucked in to the status quo. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like he could get out of the "go along to get along" rut that permeates the board.
Posti- well, her leadership was disastrous. She made confrontation with people who didn't deserve it and she should go down as the least transparent president of the last decade.
Excellent slate of candidates. Glad to see Birks and Riemer running. Four of five will get elected to the board. I'd leave off Moorhead of the group, but any set will do fine.
ReplyDeleteYes, 12:05, I agree about Posti. With Jo off the board next year, and hopefully eyes rolling Mary off the board, that leaves a civil board minus Elaine Cappucci. That is almost doable.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about three of the school board candidates. Perhaps they would consider posting their literature here. Send it to me at EGillen476@aol.com and I will post it.
Elaine
What I'he deal with Remely and Birks shifting the blame for PSERS increases on Corbett and Harrisburg?
ReplyDeleteAren't teachers pensions determined by the salaries paid to teachers. Sure PSERS funds took a hit in the recession and Harrisburg allowed them to be underfunded. Which I don't remember the board crying about having to pour additional funds into the pension fund.
So the district enjoyed the benefits of the underfunding and increase the amount the district would need to pay into the fund through higher salaries.
Another issue, Capucci and Lebowitz talk about the drastic cuts the board has been making over the years in staffing, programs and materials.
Drastic cuts!!!!???? In what year did we see the millage rate go down?
If you listen carefully Cappucci blames the state AND THE TAXPAYERS for underfunding PSERS.
Anybody out there feel like you haven't put enough in for teacher retirements?
12:46 I, for one, don't mind putting in some cash for teacher retirements. I see first hand how they handle our children. They're dedicated professionals who work more than just the school day. I want the very best teachers for my children. Right now I think we've got them. (Minus one chorus teacher, of course.)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind funding teacher retirements so much if they didn't get paid so much as well.
ReplyDeleteThe idea used to be that teachers (and most public employees) were justifiably underpaid due to large benefits packages including retirement and health care. Now that the salaries can and are above $100,000, one can hardly argue that our teachers are underpaid. The problem is, they still receive generous benefits.
Either salaries should go down or benefits should be cut (or both) to keep total compensation in line with actual private sector pay.
Give the choir teacher a break, there is usually more to the story than what the media sensationalism presents when a story first breaks. The facts will come out sooner or later. You should withhold judgment until then.
ReplyDeleteSo, 12:56 MTLSD falling in the rankings doesn't bother you? It has always been argued that our excellent schools keep home values high and attracts young families.
ReplyDeleteSo now, the most attractive school district in the region to families looking for the very best is not MTL, but USC.
Parents have issues with the math program, test scores are relatively stagnant and many students are finding themselves unprepared to perform math and english at the college freshman level.
I'm a dedicated professional and work many long days sometimes with only an hour or two of sleep.
I have neither tenure, furlough protection, long summers off, relatively cheap healthcare or a generous retirement package after 25 years.
I don't really want to hear any more how hard teachers work. I know all too well how hard some work. They work no harder at there jibs than any other dedicated professional does at theirs.
Apparently, I'm not alone in my opinion if you read this article from Forbes magazine.
ReplyDeleteAn excerpt from "The Teacher Salary Myth -- Are Teachers Underpaid?"
"Teachers do a lot of work at home
The BLS believes it has corrected for this in the hourly wages it publishes, but what if it has not? Are teachers really more likely to take work home than are other professionals?"
Be sure to read the full article, especially the conclusion in the last paragraph.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenmeyer/2011/12/22/the-teacher-salary-myth-are-teachers-underpaid/2/
12:56 you didn't address 12:46's question.
ReplyDeleteIts great if you don't have a problem putting in a little more for teacher retirements. If you've got the cash by all means put it in if you think it'll guarantee a great education for your kids. If you wish put in a lot cash rather than some, you can prime the Capital Fund Raising campaign. I don't have a problem with that.
12:46 asked if you felt like you underfunded PSERS as Cappucci claimed.
PSERS is a ripoff.
ReplyDeleteI hope Elaine the candidates take your offer to publish their campaign platforms.
ReplyDeleteIf any are reading the blog here's what believe is the school district budget.
To Remely and Birts, we have a history to look back on, so I guess you could help yourselves by commenting on what you did right, did wrong and in hindsight would you have changed your vote on any issue.
To the other three, this voter would like to know your opinion of the performance of the current board, then what you'd have done differently and how you'll dryer the district in the future.
Birks not Birts
ReplyDeletedrive not dryer
Sorry!
Does Mr. Cooper think that Mt. Lebanon is only inclusive of the top 1%?
ReplyDeleteFrom 2009 to 2011, average real income per family grew modestly by 1.7% but the gains were very uneven. Top 1% incomes grew by 11.2% while bottom 99% incomes shrunk by 0.4%. Hence, the top 1% captured 121% of the income gains in the first two years of the recovery.. Mike "Mish" Shedlock
That might be what they're trying to,do, Mike.
ReplyDeleteDrive out the bottom 99%.
All i know is our community wont survive if we keep going down the path we're on. It was set in motion by Posti who lied to enough people to get elected (barely). We need people who live in reality. Throw out every incumbent amd write in people with a clue.
ReplyDeleteIs this serving his constituents?
ReplyDeleteRemely is running as the republican candidate for Smith's vacant House seat.
He is also running to keep his seat on the school board.
Should he somehow manage to win the House seat and a position for school board In the primary, we're without a representative for one of those two position since he can't hold both!
If he chooses to stay on the school board, we're once again without a state rep. If wins and chooses the House spot, voters are cut out from picking their choice for school director.
So who is Dan looking out for?