Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Counting deer using TERC Investigations UPDATED 4X

The Almanac's article, Survey: Lebo deer population increased dramatically (saved in Google Docs) reported that 342 deer were counted, which came to 57 deer per square mile.  Kristen Linfante rounded that number up to 60 per square mile during the meeting.  The Almanac reported correctly, but the math is flawed.  What was said at the meeting on Monday was that the count included deer two miles outside of each border. The reasoning behind that is that deer live in a two mile area.  So here is a math question for everyone.  If Mt. Lebanon is six square miles and the "Mt. Lebanon PA project area" extends two miles in every direction, how many square miles is that? For extra credit, what is the actual deer count per square mile? Not 60 deer per square mile, that's for sure! No extra credit will be given for this, but consider the amount of deer counted within the two mile borders.  Following the logic, are they from Castle Shannon, Bethel, Scott, or Upper St. Clair just passing through?

Here is a copy of the deer survey which Tom Kelley touched upon on Monday night. Chief Coleman McDonough discussed the increase in deer incidents, but also pointed out that residents may be more apt to call the police now to report a deer SIGHTING.  We all know how quickly Kristen and her following like calling the police for perceived incidents. Filing a police report and comparing me to the Gabby Giffords attack when an anonymous comment discussed the execution of a document, or when a resident cautioned her not to speak of her family during a public school board meeting, or when terroristic threats were allegedly made to her when she had Real Lebo, or how about when she had the police show up on private property because of an alleged sign stealing incident are just a few that come to mind. 

Ms. Linfante's concern for public safety seemed to dissapate when I brought up the dangerous situation in front of her house. It occurs when there are cars parked on both sides of her narrow street at the crest of the hill.  An accident at that blind spot "is only a matter of time." What the Kluck?

Update June 26, 2013 5:50 PM From a 5:26 PM  Lebo ALERT :
This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

2013 deer management study is posted at www.mtlebanon.org. If you have comments, contact your commissioner.
If you have difficulty finding them on their website, I have them here.  They are easier to read than what I originally scanned since these are in color.
Vision Air Deer Survey 2013
2013 Deer Locator Map

Update June 27, 2013 6:40 AM Following my last blog comment at 4:34 AM, I sent an additional email to the Commission concerning the survey.  The email exchange follows. Where's Dave Brumfield when I need him?

At 5:32 AM, I wrote:
OK, I officially was up all night. Kristen rounded up the count to 60
deer per square mile. That makes it 2520 deer in Mt. Lebanon. What was the
count, Kristen?
I have a class at 9 AM. That is in 3.5 hours. Thanks, guys.
Elaine Gillen

At 5:41 AM, I heard from Kristen:
Well, Ms Gillen, I am awake as well.  Surely, your lack of sleep has gotten the best of you.  We are 6 sq. miles and there were 342 deer counted. Period. That equals about 57 per sq mile, or 60 as I stated since I rounded up - which seemed appropriate after the May births.
If you look at the GIS you will see that only a few deer were counted on the boundary edges - appropriately so, I might add, per Mr Kelley's explanation about their habits.
Kristen Linfante
Commissioner, Ward 3

6:01 AM, I responded with:
Kristen, who did the math? You or Tom? There were 342 deer counted in 42
square miles. Listen to what Steve and Tom said. Period.
Elaine

6:06 AM, Kristen's comeback:
Ms Gillen,
This will be my final response to your absurd emails.
I think the recommended animal to count to help with sleep is sheep, not deer. Perhaps the switch might help.
With your lack of sleep, please drive carefully to your class- there are a lot of deer out there.
Kristen Linfante
Commissioner, Ward 3

Update June 27, 2013 4:15 PM Dave Brumfield sent me an email today, after I sent this to the Commission this morning at 7:34 AM:

Commissioners, I am sending a link to a Google Doc which a Lebo Citizens reader created for my Lebo Citizens blog. It may help Kristen better understand what Tom Kelley and Steve Feller said at Monday's Discussion meeting. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9r_1biKte_bQnRrb2p0Y2E3NGM/edit?usp=sharing
Elaine Gillen

I got this response from Dave Brumfield, sent at 9:22 AM:

Ms. Gillen,
I wanted to clarify a few apparent misconceptions you have about the results of the deer survey.  First the aerial survey did not add a 2 mile buffer to all of Mt. Lebanon.  For efficiency's sake, due to our irregular borders the area was squared off.  This certainly made the survey area greater than Mt. Lebanon's actual footprint, but it was nowhere near a 42 square mile area.  Mr Kelly did point out that some of the deer included in the count were over 2000 feet from the border, but even that distance is not consistent all the way around the map.  When discussing the deer outside our borders that were included in the count Mr. Kelly did mention that deer have a 2 mile radius that defines their "living area".  But to be clear the survey results do apply to Mt. Lebanon's 6 square miles.  The count reflects the number of different deer that are likely to be seen within our borders.  Taking a snapshot count of an active deer population we have to account for their movement patterns.  The density numbers cited by the commission and staff are accurate based on the survey results and Mt. Lebanon's actual area.  They might be misleading if a neighboring community did a similiar survey, as deer would be double counted, but as an assessment of how many deer are contributing to our reported incidents it is accurate as stated.
Additionally, I would ask that in the future if you intend your information to be of assistance to just one Commissioner please send the email just to them.  If you intend it for all of us than address your comments and questions to all of us.
Thank you.
Dave Brumfield
I would have sent this sooner, but as I indicated in my earlier emails, I have been in class all day.

Update July 2, 1013 12:08 PM The map below shows the bullet range of a stray bullet.  The map is of town in NY which is 1.5 miles in its widest point. It is conceivable that a shot could be fired on one border of Mt. Lebanon and travel all the way to the other side of Mt. Lebanon.



Monday, June 24, 2013

Just so you know...a year later HA!

Remember all the hoopla about field signage last year? Just so you know...  It included this eblast from Dave Franklin:
 Here is an eblast sent from Dave Franklin.  His wife is head of YSA.  
From: "Mt. Lebanon Baseball Association - LEBO BASEBALL" <mtlbball2012@gmail.com>
Date: May 7, 2012 10:04:56 PM EDT
To:
Subject: MLBA - Field Signage Amendment Proposal

Friends:
Tomorrow night the Commissioners will vote on a proposed amendment to Mt. Lebanon’s current signage ordinance. The purpose of the amendment is to allow tasteful signs to be placed at our municipal fields, the stadium and at similar venues. This amendment will allow for the solicitation of sponsors (local businesses, larger companies, etc), who in turn will be featured on these signs. Importantly, these sponsorships will allow the municipality and/or the youth sports associations to raise much needed funds for field maintenance and improvements.
If you support this proposal, please take 3 minutes out of your day to send a short email to the Commissioners (commission@mtlebanon.org) expressing your support for an amendment to Chapter XX (Zoning) of the Mt. Lebanon Code, Part 8, Section 823.5 (Authorized Signs).
Thanks,
Dave Franklin
All good things come to those who wait.  The very last issue discussed this evening at the reconvened Commission Discussion Session was, "Internal signs at athletic facilities." David Donnellan gave his report.  I am still laughing.

There was one sign sold.  It was taken down because the sports people objected to the color and the placement. A little background: The Public Information Office tried to sell signage for the municipal fields. They had hired an intern who abruptly quit. So all this talk and pressure from the sports groups saying we must have signs... They will save the world... We can sell a bizillion signs.  In the end, ONE stinkin' sign was sold and it wasn't sold by YSA.

I asked David Donnellan who was the advertiser.  It was Covenant. They paid $500 plus $150 for the sign to be made and placed at Dixon in Center Field. The revenue went into a fund to benefit the fields. It was decided that the new Sports Advisory Board should look into this and make a recommendation which could include rewording the amendment.

Speaking of the Sports Advisory Board, Dave Franklin (Parks Advisory Board), Joy Pajak (Women's Golf) and Walt Henry (Indoor Tennis) made a brief presentation.  Dave gave a list of recommendations.  Number one on his list was that the municipality fund the turf and lighting for Mellon Field since we are a community. Gee, I didn't see that one coming.

Commission Budget Retreat 06.24.13

I am in between meetings - came from the budget retreat - going to the commission meeting.

Today's budget retreat was held in Conference Room C of the Municipal meeting. I uploaded the podcast and is available here.

Rob O'Donnell, from solutions 21, facilated again. Rob started out with the results of the commissioner survey.

Love the windfall question.  Tonight, we will start discussions about the unassigned fund balance. Ranked in commissioners' priority order:
1. Community Development
2. Public Works
3. Public Safety
4. Recreation
5. General Government
6. Human Services
You may remember a LeboALERT for a Public Satisfaction Survey. Results from the satisfaction level from services are here.  Fire, Library, Police are ranked at Meets My Expectations.  Public Works came out at Don't Care, and Recreation came in dead last caring less than Public Works. Tonight, the Sports Advisory Board (Turf Board) will be making their presentation at the Discussion Session.

Another question for the Public included:
"What ONE THING would make Mt. Lebanon better?"  The four page list can be found here.  I enjoyed reading the one about eliminating the PIO.  That one didn't even come from me! I want to say that there were 146 reponses, but don't quote me on that. I guess someone needs to count them for me or listen to the podcast. I have been told that the Municipality will be posting the video on their website.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Turf Board Update on Monday

The Sports Advisory Board, a.k.a. Turf Board is giving a report on Monday during the Commission Discussion Session in Conference Room C, at the Municipal Building. They are listed as number 4 on the agenda.

The audio from the June 6, 2013 meeting is available here and here.  Since the video portion of the meeting was corrupted, I found out that Tim White and David Donnellan ran the meeting. The initial list of members can be found from my February 14, 2013 post Introducing Dave's New Sports Advisory Board UPDATED 4x followed by my February 23, 2013 post Sports Advisory Board Redux.

On Monday, the Turf Board will be making a presentation on, you guessed it - artificial turf. They will try to tell you that a vote was taken, but there wasn't a vote taken. There was a push for turf. When Joy Pajak, representing Women's Golf asked for some upgrades to the golf course, she was shot down by Guess Who because holes 4 and 5 were upgraded. Remember, the golf course brings in revenue. Also, keep in mind that Brafferton Field was changed into a multi use field including lacrosse. The YSA presentation concluded that there were no slots available for lacrosse and so the push for lights and artificial turf on Wildcat and Middle Fields. Listen to the SAB meeting where it was suggested that the municipality GIVE money to the school district for lighting and turfing Mellon Field.

Well, I just gave the whole presentation. That should shave off ten minutes from the Discussion Session, President Kluck.


Friday, June 21, 2013

Big deal. Ours gets a $1,000 bonus!

Upper St. Clair High School principal named principal of the year
The Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals named Upper St. Clair High School principal Michael P. Ghilani its 2013 principal of the year.
Big deal.  Don't they have their priorities straight? Our school board certainly does. Our high school principal got the coveted Award for Construction Excellence.  Can Upper St. Clair make that claim? Hardly. People move to Mt. Lebanon for the schools.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Last Monday's Revised Agenda Finally Posted

From: egillen476@aol.com [egillen476@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 2:28 PM
To: School Board Email list
Cc: Dr. Timothy Steinhauer; Cissy Bowman
Subject: Change order GC63-131

Elaine,
You say that you are being transparent and that everything is on the
website. Please send me a link to the posted Change Order GC63-131 to
Nello Construction for $150,000 for Winterization. As of 2:20 PM, the
agenda from Monday's meeting does not indicate such a change order.
Elaine Gillen

***

From: Elaine Cappucci <ECappucci@mtlsd.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>; School Board Email list
<SchoolBoardEmaillist@mtlsd.net>
Cc: Dr. Timothy Steinhauer <TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net>; Cissy Bowman
<CBowman@mtlsd.net>
Sent: Thu, Jun 20, 2013 3:28 pm
Subject: RE: Change order GC63-131

Elaine,

I believe I was speaking about budget documents when I said everything
is on the website.  The change order documents, like most other
contracts and documents of that type are not all posted on the website,
but are public and available for your review through a Right to Know
request.

The change order you reference was on the revised agenda at the regular
board meeting on Monday, June 17th.  It was discussed and acted upon
publicly at that meeting and the meeting is being shown on the cable
channel.


For the Board,

Elaine Cappucci
President, Mt. Lebanon School Board
ecappucci@mtlsd.net
***

From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: ECappucci <ECappucci@mtlsd.net>; SchoolBoardEmaillist <SchoolBoardEmaillist@mtlsd.net>
Cc: TSteinhauer <TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net>; CBowman <CBowman@mtlsd.net>; **********
Sent: Thu, Jun 20, 2013 5:28 pm
Subject: RE: Change order GC63-131

Looks like you had a change of heart, Elaine. Thank you for finally posting the revised agenda. I am well aware of the fact that it was discussed at the meeting and acted upon publicly, but no notice was given to the public until David Huston brought it to the public's attention.
Elaine Gillen

***

Here is the link to the School Board Meeting Agendas. It may say that the agenda was revised 06/17/13, but it wasn't posted until this afternoon, 06/20/13.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire UPDATED 2X

Ohhhh boy, this is a goodie! Remember how we have a sound bite of President Cappucci giving a resident a hard time over the budget?  How she and the resident disagree on how transparent the Board has been? The lack of documents shared with the public? Well guess what I just got back from the PA Department of Education? Right To Know Response from the PDE.

Not only are Elaine Cappucci and the rest of the school board members keeping the budget from us, they are also keeping the budget away from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

From the PA School Code of 1949, Section 687(2)(b):
Within fifteen (15) days after the adoption of the budget, the board of school directors shall file a copy of the same in the office of the Department of Public Instruction.
A follow up email to the PDE has been sent:

To:bhanft <bhanft@pa.gov>
Cc:ra-educationsecretary <ra-educationsecretary@pa.gov>
Subject:Mt. Lebanon School District final budget 2013
Date:Wed, Jun 19, 2013 2:48 pm
Attachments:PDE_RTK0001.pdf (72K), may%2020,%202013%20board%20meeting%20summary.pdf (52K)


Mr. Hanft,
  The Mt. Lebanon School District voted on the final budget 20-MAY-2013.
See page five (5) of attached business meeting summary.

From the Pa School Code of 1949, Section 687(2)(b):
Within fifteen (15) days after the adoption of the budget, the board of school directors shall file a copy of the same in the office of the Department of Public Instruction.

Fifteen (15) calendar days from 20-MAY-2013 was 04-JUN-2013.
Today is 19-JUN-2013, an additional fifteen (15) days, making it now thirty (30) calendar days.

My RTK request response, attached, demonstrates the PDE does not have the final budget.
This is a clear violation of the Pa School Code of 1949.
What is the penalty to the Mt. Lebanon School District for this violation of law?

Update 4:15 PM Mr. Hanft responded with:


At the time PDE received your RTKL request, due to a clerical error, it was not apparent that the budget had been received.  However, Mt. Lebanon SD had timely filed its budget.  I have attached a copy and apologize for the oversight. Thank you.

 Benjamin T. Hanft | Division Chief
Division of Subsidy Data and Administration
Department of Education | Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management
333 Market Street | Hbg PA 17126
Phone: 717.787.5423 | Fax: 717.772.4106
www.education.state.pa.us
Division of Subsidy Data and AdministrationDepartment of Education | Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management333 Market Street | Hbg PA 17126Phone: 717.787.5423 | Fax: 717.772.4106www.education.state.pa.us
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONThis message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and then delete the communication from your electronic mail system.

Now we are waiting for a time stamped copy of the budget they received, not the one with today's date on it. I guess when confronted with irrefutable facts, government has to fess up lest you take the next steps and go public to expose the deceptions. Yeah, blame it on a clerical error when you're caught.

Update June 19, 2013 4:31 PM Here is the latest email from the PDE with a nine page budget sent to them.

From: bhanft@pa.gov
CC: ra-educationsecretary@pa.gov
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:17:05 -0400
Subject: RE: Mt. Lebanon School District final budget 2013-14
 Attached is the original paper copy received by the Department of Education. 

Benjamin T. Hanft, Chief
Division of Subsidy Data and AdministrationBureau of Budget and Fiscal Management

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Oh Susan, you've done it again UPDATED

Latest LeboALERT:

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.
Rising MLHS juniors or seniors may apply by July 1 to be next year's jr.commissioner. http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3998

This position is available to ALL Mt. Lebanon juniors or seniors, not just Mt. Lebanon High School students! Our first junior commissioner was a student at Seton La-Salle. The second year of the program, our PIO tried to open it up to only Mt. Lebanon High School students. We can't do that, Susan. We have lots of private schools, charter schools, and cyber school students who can also apply.

Don't let the LeboALERT discourage rising Mt. Lebanon juniors or seniors not attending Mt. Lebanon High School. If you click on the link, it does not specify that you must be a Mt. Lebanon High School student. It is a wonderful program and I encourage you to apply.

Update June 20, 2013 2:40 PM Much better, Susan.


This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


Rising juniors/seniors who live in Mt. Lebanon may apply be Jr. Commissioner. 
http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3998


Monday, June 17, 2013

It just keeps getting better and better

I have uploaded the podcast to tonight's meeting.  David Huston called to let me know that a change order was slid in tonight and was a new agenda item. It did not appear on today's agenda.  The agenda item was Change Order #GC63-131 to Nello Construction - Winterization for $150,000.

Please go to the 20:26 mark on the Lebo Citizens podcast and listen to Mr. Huston ask Elaine Cappucci about the new agenda item. Elaine explained that last month's winterization change order for $75,000, of which Dan Remely went ballistic over, was their first good faith offer to Nello Construction. Since then (somewhere between last Friday and today since the agenda did not show this), they negotiated another $150,000 for a total of $225,000.

Resident Bruce Slater was also upset about this latest move by the school board. Last week, only four change orders were discussed and this was not one of them.

Read more in the Trib Mt. Lebanon School Board OKs work for high school renovation project

What will they think of next?

How about construction merit supplements? This one is new to me.  On tonight's personnel report:


CONSTRUCTION MERIT SUPPLEMENTS OF $1,000

To be awarded to the following:
Ronald Davis
Janice Klein
Brian McFeeley
Richard Marciniak
Jeffrey Kaiser


This would never have been made public since the personnel report shows up like this on the agenda:

*(1) Monthly Personnel Report: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the June 6, 2013, list of personnel changes, as revised June 13, 2013.
Both Timmy and Elaine discussed the reason why this merit pay was given to the five employees. All five have been working extra hard saving us money on the high school project. You can listen to their explanations at approximately the 29 minute mark on Lebo Citizens.

Is this where the $5,000 increase in student parking fees went to? According to the budget reduction concepts pdf, student parking was increased from $50 to $75 for $5,000. 

Folks, what does it take to stop this Board?  

Dear School Board

Before you vote for increases tonight and in the following months, please read this article from Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. Teachers' Union Head Claims State Shortchanging Education.


 And asking for more money is not an answer. Taxpayers have the right to expect responsibility and accountability. Public employees who are not willing to be part of a solution will remain part of the problem. Taxpayers have done their part.
Taxpayers have the right to expect responsibility and accountability from you too, School Board Directors. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.  That goes for you too, Timmy and Jan.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Two hours and fifteen minutes later...

Remember this post on June 11, 2013?

























I posted it at 1:26 PM. Two hours and fifteen minutes later, Tim Steinhauer updated his blog with this.

Examples of the new water fountains being placed throughout the renovation.


That's it. That is all he put on his blog. Is Timmy showing us the water fountains that were referenced in #6 of the anonymous letter? Is he telling us that they have chillers? I can't tell. I don't have the construction training that our superintendent has.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Another lie, Mrs. Cappucci? UPDATED

Remember this? Updated List of High School Change Orders 01/22/13

Dan Remely mentioned at last night's meeting (which was televised this evening) that "the blogs" have lists of numbers for change orders. Just numbers, with no explanations given. In the small space that is available, that is all I can do. I post the agendas which provide the explanations. Dan spoke of a detailed list that will be on the School District website. When he questioned the availability of that list, President Cappucci replied that the list has not been developed. So I guess we are just stuck with a list of numbers.

How about this one from Mary Birks? New change orders added UPDATED 02/16/13
Pretty funny how Mary Birks asked about the list of change orders at Monday's meeting. She was surprised to hear that there is no list published on the School District website, not even under "High School Renovation." Mr. Marciniak said that they were waiting for a list from the architect. Meanwhile, a complete list is sitting in "The Book of Klein" that is displayed at every meeting. Not only do "the blogs" have a running total of change orders in the sidebar, "the blogs" provide a photographed copy of Jan Klein's change order list. Shouldn't Mr. Marciniak know about Jan Klein's list? If the list exists in the book that is not allowed to leave the library, why can't that file be posted on the District website?

This was after I posted The Book of Klein on Lebo Citizens. 02/12/13

Fast forward to June 10, 2013. I filed a Right To Know and got this list. Change orders 061113 There has been a list all along, but it has not been shared on the School District website, available to us. I compared what has been shown on the agendas to this list and see that Jan Klein began rounding up or down. A couple of change orders have been combined.

Looking at the list of change orders to be approved on Monday, a change has been made since last week's list.
h. EL-31-110 to Farfield for $23,395 to add low voltage wire to all scoreboard equipment and to add power to three time clocks and four pace clocks in Athletic Building,
That is a reduction of $1,857.  I will update my list after Monday's meeting to reflect that change.

So to Susan Morgans, Cissy Bowman, Laura Pace Lilley, Mary Birks, Elaine Cappucci, Mike Riemer, and anyone else out there who trash talks this blog, you are stuck with Lebo Citizens for getting up to date information.

Administrators getting average increase of 3%

The June 17, 2013 Agenda has been posted on the MTLSD website. In a previous Lebo Citizens post, Annual salary adjustments? percentages were not shared with the public. Monday's agenda shows:
(2) Approval of Annual Salaries for 12-Month Secretaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of contracted salaries for 12-month secretaries as listed effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase as negotiated of 2.89% over the duration of the contract.
(3) Approval of Annual Salaries for Custodial/Maintenance Employees: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of contracted salaries for custodial/maintenance employees effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase as negotiated of 3.0% over the duration of the contract.
(4) Approval of Annual Salaries for Administrative Assistants/Supervisors: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of salary adjustments for administrative
assistants/supervisors effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase of 2.8%.
(5) Approval of Annual Salaries for Specialists: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of salary adjustments for specialists effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase of 2.8%.
(6) Approval of Salaries for Head Custodians: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of salary adjustments for head custodians effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase of 2.8%.
(7) Approval of Administrative Salaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of annual salaries for administrators effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an increase in accordance with the Act 93 agreement of 1.7% plus merit for an average increase of 3.0%.
This does not include the Superintendent. Timmy's raise should be announced next month or so. His contract runs from July 1-June 30.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A new fee for everyone

The Commission took another step closer to implementing a Pay As You Throw (PAYT) program. The waste fee, not to be confused with our recyclables, would be charged to all residents in Mt. Lebanon and promotes a unit-based pricing approach to solid waste management. For example, if you throw away a bag a week, you would be charged less than your neighbor who tosses ten bags a week.

I spoke against this new fee at last night's commission meeting. After watching this presentation during the discussion session, I thought that it would:

  • Boost hoarding
  • Provide us with an incentive to dump our garbage in with our recyclables
  • Charge us with another fee
  • Start illegal dumping of garbage in public places
  • Make it more difficult for those who rely on wheeling their garbage to the curb
This opens up a can of worms for me. Why will we paying for stormwater fees, block parties, and garbage collection, when we have a commissioner who wants to use our tax dollars to kill deer? Why not make that "Pay as We Kill?" Why should my tax dollars pay for something that I am opposed to in Mt. Lebanon? Are we going to have "Pay as We Plow?" How about "Pay as We Collect Your Leaves?" Will they charge admission for July 4 fireworks? What about "Pay as We Turf?"

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Anonymous letter number two

Another anonymous letter has surfaced and made its way here on Lebo Citizens. As before, I scanned it as a pdf and is available in the hyperlink above, and as a .jpg below.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Filing a Right To Know, Part 2 (The rest of the story)

On June 5, 2013, I filed a Right To Know with the School District asking for the 2013-14 Mt. Lebanon School District Budget Resolution, approved by the Mt. Lebanon School Board on May 20, 2013, and the detailed 2013-2014 Final Budget.

The District normally has five business days to respond, which they did, unless a legal review is required, which would be 30 additional days. Here is the response I received today by Mrs. Szalinski, Open Records Officer, and Dr. Steinhauer's administrative assistant.































I acknowledged receipt of the response that had also been sent to Dr. Steinhauer, Solicitor Tom Peterson, and Jan Klein with the following:

Mrs. Szalinski,
Thank you for your timely response, but I am confused. The detailed final budget to the PDE on the link that you provided in your response is only 24 pages and can be found here. http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/budgetmeetingdocuments.asp

Yet, last year's budget is 205 pages. http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/budget_2012-2013.pdf It can be found here: http://www.mtlsd.org/district/finance.asp

Where might I get the detailed 2013-2014 final budget?

Elaine Gillen
How can we go from 205 pages to 24 pages? I know the District has been frugal, according to Jan Klein, but saving on electrons doesn't really amount to much.

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Sunday, June 9, 2013

41st Annual Greek Food Festival UPDATED


Mykonos-Windmill_big



Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church 41st Village

Food Festival

Come join us for the Festival!  

Serving lunch and dinner with homemade Greek specialties and desserts. Listen and dance to live Greek music. Shop at our bookstore and our other unique “shops” featuring beautiful Orthodox art, Mediterranean jewelry and lots more you can only find on…

 

June 12, 13, 14 & 15, 2013

Lunch 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Dinner 4:30 PM-9:00 PM
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Saturday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM (Food line is open all day Saturday)

Take Out: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday ONLY 11:30 AM-7:00 PM
Online Ordering ONLY Wednesday-Friday…all orders available for pick up in Take Out area
Phone: 412.854.6001
Fax: 412.833.0982


Update June 13, 2013 Fax Order Form is available here.

Friday, June 7, 2013

RRRibbit

You knew this was coming...

Once upon a time, there was a super Super named Timmy. On Graduation Day, Timmy spoke of a challenging day that he had at the beginning of the year. He shared his tale with 450 of Mt. Lebanon's finest students.

The graduates were sitting on the edge of their chairs in anticipation of the super Super's words of wisdom.

Timmy began his Commencement speech. He started with a story about an incident that occurred at the construction site.

Super Timmy told these students about a group of frogs which showed up on the job site. These were not ordinary frogs, but magical, talking frogs.

The children in the stadium were spell bound. "In our land of unicorns and rainbows, Mt. Lebanon also has magical, talking frogs," they whispered to their parents and grandparents.

But the grads stared in disbelief. "Oh no! Our super Super is giving the wrong speech," they proclaimed. They were horrified that Timmy was giving his kindergartner speech. 

The next day, Timmy was the talk of the town.

But here is the rest of the story. Timmy's magical, talking frog jumped out and was immediately hit by a construction truck.



This story does have a happy ending. Timmy gets a huge raise and lives happily ever after.

The End

Annual salary adjustments?

The June 10, 2013 School Board Agenda lists the following six salary items:

2. Approval of List of Annual Salaries for 12-Month Secretaries – The Superintendent recommends the negotiated annual contract salaries for 12-month secretaries as listed effective July 1, 2013.

3. Approval of List of Annual Salaries for Custodial/Maintenance Employees – The Superintendent recommends the negotiated annual contract salaries for
custodial/maintenance employees as listed effected July 1, 2013.

4. Approval of Annual Salaries for Administrative Assistants/Supervisors – The Superintendent recommends that the Board approves the annual salary adjustments for administrative assistants/supervisors effective July 1, 2013.

5. Approval of Annual Salaries for Specialists – The Superintendent recommends that the Board approves the annual salary adjustments for specialists effective July 1, 2013.

6. Approval of Annual Salaries of Head Custodians – The Superintendent recommends that the Board approve the annual salary adjustments for head custodians effective July 1, 2013.

7. Approval of Administrative Salaries – The Superintendent recommends that the Board approve the annual salary adjustments for administrators effective July 1, 2013.

I see the agenda is lacking a minor detail this year.  No percentages are listed. Maybe it is not important. Just knowing that Timmy recommends that the Board approve them is good enough for them.

June Change Orders

The June 10, 2013 agenda has been posted.  The list of 29 change orders totals $211,287 for June.

Change Orders for High School Renovation Project – The following change orders are presented for Board consideration. All the change orders listed below have been reviewed by the architect, PJ Dick and the District administration.

a. PL-13-102 to Vrabel for $4,449 to install gas turrets for Science classrooms,
b. PL-14-103 to Vrabel for $3,850 to install Heat Trace on vertical sanitary stacks in G Building,
c. PL-15-104 to Vrabel for $4,267 to provide plumbing to rooms described in
RFIs 7 and 29,
d. PL-16-105 to Vrabel for $2,511 for added rain water conductor piping based on a louver conflict,
e. PL-17-106 to Vrabel for $2,970 to add master shower control valve in Athletic Building restroom,
f. PL-18-107 to Vrabel for $6,525 to tie the existing rain water conductors in D
Building to storm sewer,
g. EL-29-108 to Farfield for $1,699 to add power to F Building hydronic unit
heaters,
h. EL-30-109 to Farfield for $5,203 to add 120V power and low voltage control to window shades in D Building,
i. EL-31-110 to Farfield for $25,252 to add low voltage wire to all scoreboard
equipment and to add power to three time clocks and four pace clocks in
Athletic Building,
j. EL-32-111 to Farfield for $5,986 to add disconnect switch for VAV box
transformers as required by electrical inspector,
k. EL-33-112 to Farfield for $11,084 for electrical grounding grid and service
changes required by Duquesne Light,
l. EL-34-113 to Farfield for $861 to relocate dumbwaiter enclosed circuit breaker from third to fourth floor,
m. EL-35-114 to Farfield for $3,570 to extend power feed for boiler induction fan from 2nd floor of G Building to roof,
n. GC-50-115 to Nello for $10,099 to pave full depth of south parking lot which was only intended to be milled,
o. GC-51-116 to Nello CREDIT of ($1,047) to eliminate masonry as requested in Bulletin 9,
p. GC-52-117 to Nello for $3,500 to construct parapet on G Building roof at
column line EEE,
q. GC-53-118 to Nello for $5,862 to add beam for roof support betweens
Buildings F and G,
r. GC-54-119 to Nello for $2,244 to re-fabricate beam that was dimensioned
improperly during submittal review,
s. GC-55-120 to Nello for $4,197 for B Building 6th floor infill changes,
t. GC-56-121 to Nello for $1,594 to provide masonry patching at existing wall in elevator shaft in F Building,
u. GC-57-122 to Nello for $1,336 to add a drainage basin ,
v. GC-58-123 to Nello for $85,495 to add storm piping at west end of Athletic
Building on a time and material not to exceed basis,
w. GC-59-124 to Nello for $662 to add two football lockers based on room
measurement,
x. GC-60-125 to Nello for $3,171 to furnish double tiered 24”lockers in lieu of
specified 18” units,
y. GC-61-126 to Nello for $4,621 to provide modifications required to steel in
electrical room stairwell shaft,
z. ME-05-127 to McKamish for $3,740 to add fire dampers in existing ductwork in Little Theatre as required by code,
aa.ME-06-128 to McKamish for $3,156 to relocate piping to allow the spray on sound attenuation in mechanical equipment room,
bb. ME-07-129 to McKamish for $1,254 to remove chilled water piping in the 6th floor of B Building, and
cc.GC-62-130 to Nello for $3,129 for time and materials worked in F
Building invoiced through May, 2013.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Latest dockets concerning the Grievance

Finally, I found the right County website which houses all the dockets.  Here is the docket that MTLSD filed asking for clarification.

This just appeared this week as a response from the MLEA.

I am not an attorney, so all you attorneys out there, please translate.

All sales are final

And so it begins. We warned you...

From: "Ronald P. Davis, EdD" <noreply@mtlsd.net>
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2013 08:52:49 -0400
Subject: Pay to Participate Program

June 6, 2013

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The Mt. Lebanon School District is implementing a “pay to participate” program for grades 6-12 beginning in the 2013-2014 school year. There will be a “pay to participate” fee for those involved in middle school and high school athletics, marching band and its auxiliary programs, and high school intramurals. The fee structure is:

• High School Athletics – An annual $40 flat fee allowing a student to participate in each and/or every sports season;
• High School Marching Band & Auxiliary Programs - An annual $40 flat fee allowing a student to participate in the marching band/auxiliary program(s);
• Middle School Athletics - An annual $20 flat fee allowing a student to participate in each and/or every sports season; and
• High School Intramurals - A $5/person/event fee to participate in the high school intramural program.

Fee payment can be made through an online system, “FamilyID”, with the link soon to be available on the Athletic Department and/or respective middle/high schools’ websites. Please be advised that students will not be eligible for participation until this requirement is met. If a family is experiencing economic hardship and is unable to pay the fee, this can be indicated in the online system for the administration to review. Also, the fee will be capped at $80/family; this cap, however, will not include participating in the high school intramural program.

As a general principle, fees will not be refunded for students who quit a team, program, or activity; minimally attend practices, events, or games; become ineligible for any reason; or issues related to playing time. Should a student be cut from the program prior to participation, have a severe illness, injury, or unexpected family situation arise during participation that makes further participation unlikely, discussion can occur with the respective building administrator asking for consideration of a refund.

Additionally, the online system, “FamilyID”, will permit each student to complete participation forms which will be available online beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, using an electronic signature feature. Physicals, which require a doctor’s signature, will continue to be submitted in paper form.

In the coming weeks, additional details and direction will be provided by our building principals, athletic director, and/or program leaders. Thank you, in advance, for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Ronald P. Davis, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

My first tutorial: How to file a Right To Know UPDATED 2X

I love to read sewing blogs.  They inspire me to get creative.  I especially enjoy the blogs which offer tutorials.  That got me thinking about what I could do on this blog. Thinking back to a comment posted here on 5/26/13:

The Budget Resolution is a very long detailed document that nobody wants to read because it is so long. However, there are significant details disclosed in that motion. It is possible that the revenue neutral millage figure might be contained therein. File a RTK request for the Budget Resolution passed by the board if you dare. on Lebo math at its finest
Why not do a tutorial on how to file a Right To Know? I never took the time to file a RTK on the budget, so I will try to go through the steps here.

Looking at the School District website, notice how the 2013-14 Budget is not posted as of June 5, 2013.  To file a RTK with the School District, click on School Board on the left sidebar of the School District website. Then click on Right To Know located in the task bar. http://www.mtlsd.org/district/righttoknow.asp  Click on Public Records Request Form. Request forms are also available here and on my website http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Right_to_Know.html

Send the completed form to:

Jeanine Szalinski
Mt. Lebanon School District
7 Horsman Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15228

412.344.2077
Fax 412.344.2047

I email my requests to Mrs. Szalinski at jszalinski@mtlsd.net. Here is a sample request that I made when Chip Dalesandro came to my door to say that the YSA had paid all Joint Maintenance Agreement fees in full.

The process is the same for the Municipality. Their form is listed here and on my website. I email my RTK requests to our manager, Steve Feller at sfeller@mtlebanon.org.

I always request the medium and format to be email and PDF. I avoid printing costs this way.  Occasionally, both local governments have charged me for printing fees for large files. It can get pricey at 25 cents per page.

Boy, was that a boring tutorial. I think I will stick to sewing blogs for inspiration. I hope I took some of the mysticism out of the Right To Know process. Don't be intimidated to file a RTK.  It is our right to know!

Update 3:11 PM For all the Remely fans out there, this is what Dan Remely has to say about Right To Knows. Note: The School District made a pdf of this orginal article, New Right to Know law costly, Mt. Lebanon schools say 
At this week's meeting, school board member Daniel Remely suggested the district make the names of the requestors and the costs of performing the requests available for public review.

That is when I decided to start lebocitizens.com. I vowed to put all the RTK requests that the District denied online. As soon as I made that clear in Citizens Comments, his threat, I mean suggestion, went away.

Update 4:58 PM Why go after Dan Remely, when I can also show what Mary Birks, Timmy, Tom Peterson, and Josephine Posti have to say about Right To Know requests? And yes, Mary Birks did say Mrs. Lewinsky.

From: David Huston
To: jschnee@state.pa.us
CC: schoolboardemaillist@mtlsd.net; tpeterson@tuckerlaw.com; tsteinhauer@mtlsd.net
Subject: Docket AP 2010-0761
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:29:13 +0000

Mr. Schnee,
  Please acknowledge receipt of this e-mail message.
I am a Mt. Lebanon resident interested in government affairs and have
no formal law training. The Mt. Lebanon School District, herein after
referred to as the District, is using all legal resources at its
disposal to keep me from inspecting public documents.
  On 11-AUG-2010, I requested an e-mail pdf scan of a blank form document.
On 18-AUG-2010, I was informed by means of a scanned pdf document,
my request was granted, yet I was not provided the open record I requested.
On 19-AUG-2010 at 8:05AM EDT, I appeared at the Open Records office to
personally inspect the Open Records. The staff did not show up for work on
time and the same documents the Open Records officer informed me the day
before were available, were not available for me to inspect when I paid
the District a personal visit.
A resident need not to notify an agency in advance of public inspection during
normal business hours the day after being notified the Open Records
are available for inspection. This fact should be intuitively obvious
to the casual observer, but the District solicitor failed to recognize it.

  On 34-AUG-2010, I e-mailed the solicitor advance notice that I would be
attending the Open Meeting, see attached notice.pdf document.
On 25-AUG-2010 during an open meeting, I asked the District if I could
inspect the Open Records made available for me on 18-AUG-2010.
The solicitor told me they were not available. Please note Open Meetings are
held one floor above the District offices and the documents could have
been given to me after the meeting if the District were not vigorously
protecting its position of prohibiting access to Open Records.
In an e-mail dated 26-AUG-2010, Mr. Peterson wrote I demanded, "again
without prior notice" to review the records.
If you review the meeting recording I sent last week, you will find
I asked politely without demanding.
Also, I did indeed provide one day prior advance notice of my attendance at
the 25-AUG-2010 Open Meeting, and I included Mr. Peterson as a recipient of my notice.
The District has not mailed me any documents pertaining to this request,
even though I wrote my address on the RTK form 11-AUG-2010 and publicly
stated my street address on 25-AUG-2010.

  The District has not provided me the documents I requested in electronic
format even after I appealed to the Office of Open Records and asked
for the documents in a public forum.
The District's own policy KDB, attached, states the "public records of the
District shall be made available for inspection and copying in
accordance with applicable Federal and State law and the procedures
set forth herein."
The District contends my appeal is frivolous resulting in unneccessary expense.
The fact is, if the district complied with my request initially,
I would not have appealed and there would be no unneccessary expense.


I have also attached five (5) audio clips from Open Meetings, with
links to the entire meetings, the transcribed text and comment below:

http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/6/21_School_Board_Business_Meeting.html
2010-06-21A:
Director Mary Birks:
Individuals who request reams of information, and yet, don't even take the time to come in and view those things, umm, which takes a lot of time from Mrs. Lewinsky uh a lot of time from some of our other folks. Takes them away from
their jobs here in the district, so they are helping kids to get an education rather
than copy paper that might not ever be looked at.
  Comment:
  The District is concerned about residents who do not inspect records after requesting them, yet denies access of records to residents who do indeed appear to inspect them. Director Birks contends non-certified office staff are educating children.

http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/6/21_School_Board_Business_Meeting.html
2010-06-21B:
Director Dan Remely:
But I do have an objection to frivolous requests, to request to copy hundreds and
hundreds of pages and not have the courtesy or the respect to pick them up or to pay for them. That's part of the law. I have no concern about anything that that is out there in public, it's there everyday, it's on TV every week. I have a major concern for people who think it's just fun to run the costs up for the school district.
In my opinion, if we are going to post the right to know requests, especially now
that we have the, uh, we've already spent the money to put in the technical side
to keep our costs down. I would like to see the actual cost, legal, copying and
otherwise of each request, posted with that request, and uh, and then, I'd also
like to be noted that if things are copied on their behalf,
were they picked up or not?
  Comment:
  Director Remely contends resident requests for Open Records are frivolous and wishes to publicly intimidate residents from making Open Records requests.
  He noted the District should inform the public whether or not a resident picks
  up requested open records, but does not care if hired staff perform their
  work function providing open records to residents who have previously requested them.

http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/7/12_School_Board_Discussion_Meeting%2C_Part_1.html
http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/7/12_School_Board_Discussion_Meeting%2C_Part_2.html
2010-07-12A:
Superintendent Steinhauer:
Things that we have implemented, prior to making all the copies without the parties picking them up, is, informing them of the cost, and asking them of their intent, of whether to pick those up, so we are trying to be a little bit more careful about making copies prior to people coming in to pick
them up but we'd certainly whatever the board is decision and what they'd like to
post uh you know we'd like to comply with well if you feel like you've eliminated that issue Superintendent Steinhauer: well you never know
Director Josephine Posti: yeah
Superintendent Steinhauer: sometimes people say yes they will come get it, and then they ultimately don't come and get, we've made the copies and they ultimately don't come and get them.
Director Mary Birks:
Ok, well there there's the other, the other situation where the information is
gathered and the individual is going to come in and go over them, and then doesn't.
And it's the time that Mrs. Szalinski spends gathering the information and I think
that's what Mrs. Posti is saying you know, if we are going to put this kind of money, it's taxpayer money, that we are spending on these requests. And if we, if we're doing that, we need to make sure that people know if they're just doing it to make people busy, or if they're actually doing something to find out information that's helpful.
Director Dan Remely:
Umm, I had suggested last week that we put the price on, and so forth; and I'm still firmly behind that, and in fact, if if uh we can advise one of the cost of copies, I would request the check up front, before we make the first copy.
I am not in a position to spend taxpayer's dollars on somebody's frivolous request.
If they want ten thousand pages copied, you pay for ten thousand pages.
If you don't pick them up, I don't care.
Director Josephine Posti:
Can we do that, though, under the way the law reads?
Solicitor Tom Peterson:
One hundre, hundred dollars.
Director Josephine Posti:
We can ask for pre-payment?
Solicitor Tom Peterson:
If it's a hundred dollars or more, you can ask for pre-payment.
Director Josephine Posti:
Ok, ok.
Director Dan Remely:
Umm, and I also think that we ought to, after posting the right to knows, which
are fine, you know everybody's allowed to do that, umm, the cost of it, and in some cases or all cases, an ongoing cost. So if someone's got a right to know bi-weekly, and every other week it's another thousand dollars, start adding it up.
Let the public know what they're requesting. It may be legitimate, that's fine;
but let 'em know what they're requesting, and let them know what the total costs are over the year. Um, it's just, uh, some of the requests we get are absurd, and
expensive for us to comply with, and then ignored, and I think that's just obnoxious to, to have to go through that. It's terrible, so, and a huge waste of money.
  Comment:
  This discussion underscores the fact that the District is not concerned about
  the right of residents to request and receive Open Records.

http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/7/12_School_Board_Discussion_Meeting%2C_Part_1.html
http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/7/12_School_Board_Discussion_Meeting%2C_Part_2.html
2010-07-12B:
Superintendent Steinhauer:
Sometimes we get requests to uh, scan documents and then e-mail them to people, umm, and under the statute, umm, they are able to get information that way.
But then, there that is a cost of umm the administrative assistant or anybody else who is involved in gathering those documents. Remember that the right to know does not require us to develop documents, it just requires us to provide the information that is currently on a document, or uh, something that we have already have made that
doesn't require us to make those documents make a spreadsheet or anything like that.
We can provide the information from where somebody else can make that spreadsheet.
  Comment:
  Dr. Steinhauer stated the District provides residents Open Records in scanned pdf format via e-mail. He also said the District does not perform additional manual data entry tasks to satisfy a request.
  My request was for electronic scanned documents and would have required the same, or even less work than paper documents.
  As a course of business, the District routinely scans paper documents
  and e-mails the pdf facsimile of same. In fact, this very action was performed
  when Ms. Szalinski replied to inform me the Open Records I requested would be available. This same scanning activity would have satisfied my original request if the District performed the scan of the Open Records I requested.
  The District chose to create an undue hardship on me by delaying and denying
  Open Records that the same agency admitted I am entitled to have.

http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/7/12_School_Board_Discussion_Meeting%2C_Part_1.html
http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcast/Entries/2010/7/12_School_Board_Discussion_Meeting%2C_Part_2.html
2010-07-12C:
Superintendent Steinhauer:
Anybody requesting this a right to know, well, they really don't even need to do that, because we pretty much post every document that we own and have on our website.
  Comment:
  The District is wasting my time because the Open Records I requested should be on the website.

 

Monday, June 3, 2013

Prison hallway or New High School hallway?

The School District has a monthly Construction Update.  The next Construction Update is June 10, 2013. I decided that I know as much about construction as our super Super, so I decided to have my own Construction Update. Will it be a monthly feature? I dunno.

This month, it is all about hallways.  Below are two photos. One is the new high school hallway and the other one is a prison. Can you guess which is which?



Why do I bring this up? On July 28, 2009, Dirk A. Taylor, P.E., reviewed the MT. LEBANON HIGH SCHOOL ADDITIONS AND RENOVATIONS Schematic Plans Dated June 1, 2009. Read his comments on the inefficiencies of one-sided corridors

Maybe I will call this series of posts, "We told you so!" or "Dirk knows his stuff!"

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Here is a fun exercise

The Mt. Lebanon Tax Office should be commended. Our June 1 tax bills ARRIVED in our mailboxes on June 1.  They are so efficient!

For those of you who have recovered from the shock and are looking for something fun to do on this Sunday afternoon, I have a fun exercise for you all.  The Allegheny County website, Allegheny County Real Estate Office provides a free search for mortgages. Click on "Free Search" in the gray text box. The default office setting is "Deeds." Using the drop down arrow, find "Mortgages." Every time one takes out a mortgage, refinances, takes out home equity loans, or pays off the mortgage, it is all recorded here.

Here is where the fun begins. Start looking up the names of those who vote on our tax increases. Compare the amounts of what is owed vs. the sale price of the home here. In many cases, it is obvious why we are where we are with our school district budget.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Hack for Change

Happy National Day of Civic Hacking!

National Day of Civic Hacking is a national event that takes place today and tomorrow, in cities across the nation. The event will bring together citizens, software developers, and entrepreneurs from all over the nation to collaboratively create, build, and invent new solutions using publicly-released data, code and technology to solve challenges relevant to our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and our country. National Day of Civic Hacking will provide citizens an opportunity to do what is most quintessentially American: roll up our sleeves, get involved and work together to improve our society.

Some FAQs:

Q. What is National Day of Civic Hacking?
A. National Day of Civic Hacking is an event during which citizens from around the country will work together with local, state and federal governments as well as private sector organizations with the common goal of improving their community.

Q. When and where will it take place?
A. National Day of Civic Hacking will take place in cities across America on the weekend of June 1-2, 2013.

Q. Who is leading the National Day of Civic Hacking?
A. National Day of Civic Hacking is a national initiative to promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens. It’s a collaboration between citizens, organizations, companies and government. Events will take place in cities around the nation.
Bringing it home, the purpose of this blog is to promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens. On a personal level, I see it happening between the municipality (with some exceptions) and citizens, but the school district has dug its heels in deeper to discourage transparency, participation and collaboration. The school board directors, on the whole, are secretive, ignore residents' emails, dismiss detailed budget presentations given by residents, reject professional input (CAC), roll their eyes at opposing viewpoints, and on and on.