It is costing students more to park their cars, while administration and staff park for free. Students pay to cross busy Washington and Cochran Roads and walk greater distances through rain and snow. Parents seem to put up with it. Boy, am I glad my kids are done with Mt. Lebanon Schools. It doesn't seem right to me.
Pay to Participate for Athletics and Band Begins this Year
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. To register your child for these activities, please click on the links below. The links can be found under Fine Arts or Athletics at www.mtlsd.org.
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.
• 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.
13 comments:
$40 times 1000 kids = $40,000.
Fee Lite Program won't cover half the fund raiser salary.
Pay to participate? Thats great news. It means the school board can lower taxes for the three-quarters of residents who dont have kids in school. You know, the actual majority of the community. The people who have been lied to repeatedly. The working people who had no legal recourse for the bullying and childish behavior by our illustrious school board.
You will also be paying to purchase any cold drinking water you may get at the high school since the water coolers reportedly supply only tap water.
Jim, you know that isn't going to happen. Paying to participate is only to fund those rising salaries and bonuses. It isn't about the kids. It is about the adults. The kids just have to pay for it. And we were accused of being anti sports! It is the school board that is anti sports.
Elaine
The SB chose to wrap the bonds to continue to have more money to raise salaries and bonuses! If they didn't wrap the bonds, there would be a consistent figure each year to be repaid, not what they "felt" they could afford. Another bait and switch!
The parking fee didn't lower taxes, it got passed out by the Dr. Steinhauer to highly paid administrators in the form of bonuses. One administrator even got her pension spiked when she received a 6.9% pay raise.
The bonds we are issuing will cost $5.6 million more over their life.
Warm tap water to drink in the schools to save energy and a heated pool to spend the savings from the 1930's form of government at the municipality.
We still haven't paid for a watering system for the Veteran's Memorial or fixed the irrigation system at the golf course.
Where is the tax cut?
Pay for your irresponsible toys parents - climbing wall, zero entry, and heated pool included.
Swimmers should also pay for the debt service on the swimming pool just as parents should also pay the debt service on turfed athletic fields.
The woman who had her pension spiked is the same person who brought us an investment advisor that tacked $5, 600,000 onto the bond issue cost. Congratulations, Dr. Steinhauer, on rewarding those who squander money.
"It is discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit."
Noel Coward Blythe Spirit
Well, a guy can dream, Elaine. Stupid me, I thought since our premier school district was now charging fees to participate in the oh-so-coveted athletic programs (which is apparently the new reason people move here) that those fees would result in financial prudence on the part of the school board. I mean, surely with the taxes we all pay (well, the taxes some pay with the taxes other people dont pay) we can afford to fully fund every frickin' sport under the sun for all the darlings. Don't tell me we, as the cake-eater community, are actually, on a municipal level, house-poor? Holy arrested development, Batman, what will they be whispering in Upper St. Clair and Bethel and all those other places we pretend don't exist...until we're trying outbuild them...and outspend them...? Will our neighbors point with spite as they cruise down Rt. 19, gleefully exclaiming, "Remember when we actually thought about moving here? Hahaha!"
Seriously, we all pay enough to reside here. And we're paying for a service most of us dont use. So, SB, put on your big boy pants and make the call. Either close down a school or reduce taxes. But stop with the silly and insane spending. As much as you want to believe it, the community cannot afford much more.
Just a little confused when you wrote, "Students pay to cross busy Washington and Cochran Roads". Do you mean potentially with their lives (traffic!) or some other way?
The students pay to park in Timmy's church lot, which is on Washington Road. The free parking spaces are on school property. Students cross Washington Road and Cochran Road, travel greater distances, and are charged a parking fee.
Elaine
Why does Mt. Lebanon employ a litigious PIO?
Why are we duplicating services with MtL and In Mt. Lebanon Magazine?
Why is the public sector competing with the public sector with MtL? Duplicating services is a wasteful use of taxes.
Remember Susan Morgans threatened Mike Madison with a lawsuit because he criticized her daughter on his blog?
Mr. Feller, why are you putting up with this behavior from Susan Morgans?
Grow up Susan and retire while you still have a good reputation.
John Ewing
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