Just so you know, Pay As You Throw

To be fair, I wanted to inform Lebo Citizens readers that there is a big push to urge commissioners to consider Pay As You Throw. For those not sure what PAYT is, read Pay As You Throw and A new fee for everyone.

From Lebogreen.org Waste Contract Renewal, 

If you are interested in making a change from traditional trash removal to a program that will save money, increase recycling, decrease waste going to a landfill, and have the greatest positive environmental impact to our community, we ask that you contact ALL of our Commissioners individually to let them know! This is not a Ward issue, but a township issue. Mt. Lebanon’s waste removal contract is up for bid and now is the time to contact our Commissioners:
Matt Kluck – mkluck@mtlebanon.org
Kristin Linfante – klinfante@mtlebanon.org
Dave Brumfield – dbrumfield@mtlebanon.org
Kelly Fraasch – kfraasch@mtlebanon.org
John Bendel – jbendel@mtlebanon.org

This program was considered in 2008 by a former commission and found through SHACOG, that it was not a good idea for the community. Kristen Linfante and Kelly Fraasch are behind this "new idea" since they lived in communities where it worked. Dave Brumfield also lived in a community that had PAYT, and it didn't work.

The program will save money since the cost is being removed from the Municipality and into your wallets. This is another fee that is being taken out of our taxes and charged separately. I don't understand the need to contact all of the commissioners separately. Send one email to commission@mtlebanon.org and let them know how you feel.

[6.9%] 7.46% increase for Timmy

Picture this: a school board sitting in executive session making very, very difficult decisions.

Where do we cut? We've already trimmed the fat; now we're cutting muscle. How do we pay for the remainder of the high school renovation? Do we wait for a green light from Pursuant Ketchum? Should we cut librarians? Guidance counselors? Custodians?  Do we eliminate the community service coordinator? Should we charge students to park? What about increasing student parking fees? Oh, this is so hard! Shall we charge an activity fee? We need to make cuts as far away from the student as possible. How about a $30 million fundraising campaign? No...a $15 million campaign! Uh...$6 million fundraising campaign? Yes! That's it! But we still have to figure out how we are going to pay for the rest of the project. We can't have a referendum. Let's float a bond! We'll wrap it. Use capitalized interest. Don't use any money from the General Fund. It will only be $18 a month more. No, that's not right. We'll say that it is like no increase at all. No...We'll say it will be like two large pizzas. Wait a minute. There is a grievance that we need to address. If we ignore that, maybe it will go away. For sure, we won't budget for it. Uh oh, there is something else. PSERS. Darn that Corbett! It is all his fault. What to do, what to do? Let's come up with an early bird contract for our superintendent! Let's give him the same lame goals as he had in 2012-13 and 2013-14! Even better - let's give him a 6.9% 7.46% increase to kick off the 2014 contract. Perfect! But we have to do this quietly, because it will never fly if it gets out. Now what about the rifle range, the weight room, tennis courts, and Mellon Field? It should add up. We have TERC Investigations.

Here it is, Folks. Dr. Timothy J. Steinhauer's 2014-2019 Contract

While we're waiting...

I sent a second email to Elaine Cappucci asking where the superintendent's contract will be posted on the MTLSD website yesterday and have not received a reply. Per her email sent to me on Monday, This just in UPDATED, the contract was going to be posted this week. Likewise, the Superintendent Goals for the new school year have yet to be seen. I don't understand why things take so long with the school district. The Board meeting reports from the President and the Superintendent stop in August. Meanwhile, the Municipality seems to have a less than 24 hour turnaround time.

While we're waiting, a Lebo Citizens reader sent me a local government management guide published by the New York State Comptroller's Office, Local Government and School Accountability Division,
Financial Condition Analysis.

Another Lebo Citizens reader sent me this information, which is disappointing.

You may remember all the hype about the property tax relief homeowners were going to get from legalized gambling in Pennsylvania.  Well, here are the actual dollars saved per each home in Mt. Lebanon after the politicians finished carving out their slice of the pie for their department in Harrisburg. These are the folks the school board keeps begging for money.

Year
Dollars Saved

2008-2009
$194 

 

2009-2010 

$192 

2010-2011 

$188 

2011-2012 

$185 

2012-2013 

$184 

2013-2014 

$183 

 The $1,000,000 home and the $100,000 home each receive the same dollar amount. 

 Source: Allegheny Institute Report #13-05 September 2013

S.A.F.E. Lebo (Stop Addiction for Everyone)

Commissioner Kelly Fraasch and School Board Director Josephine Posti, co-chairs of S.A.F.E. Lebo.

Commissioner Kelly Fraasch and School Board Director Josephine Posti, co-chairs of S.A.F.E. Lebo.

September 26, 2013

S.A.F.E (Stop Addiction for Everyone) Lebo task force is a coalition of Pittsburgh-area organizations dedicated to educating people in Mt. Lebanon and nearby communities about the dangers of prescription drug abuse; sharing resources for help, and providing a year-round opportunity to safely dispose of un-used or expired prescription medications.

In early 2013, Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Kelly Fraasch and Mt. Lebanon School Director Josephine Posti organized the first meeting of what would become the S.A.F.E (Stop Addiction for Everyone) Lebo task force. Over the past year, six Mt Lebanon residents ranging in age from 20 to 50 had died of opiod overdoses, prompting an urgency to raise community awareness of a national problem that was hitting home. The group of professionals that convened expressed specific concern about the increasing abuse of prescription medication—often the gateway to heroin addiction—by teenagers and adults.

Please take advantage of the 24-hour, free unused and expired medication drop-off sponsored by PA American Water at the Mt. Lebanon Public Safety Center, 555 Washington Road.

Learn more about S.A.F.E. Lebo

Click here to watch the S.A.F.E. Lebo News Conference

http://mtlsd.org/district/HeadlineArticle.asp?HLP_ID=1342&HL_ID=1474#1474

Upper St. Clair doesn't fool around

Torrente project to get under way in Upper St. Clair

The apartment boom is now reaching what might be one of the last places you’d expect in the region — Upper St. Clair, your suburb’s suburb. 

One of the region’s wealthiest communities with one of the strongest school districts, Upper St. Clair is set for a new apartment complex called Torrente, a 220-unit project consisting of nine buildings and a clubhouse on 25 acres of land at the end of Boyce Plaza Road.

Meanwhile, it's been almost a year to the day since there was an informational meeting about the Zamagias property across the street from St. Bernard's Church. Informational Meeting about Zamagias Property How many years have they been fooling around?

A topic that takes everything out of me UPDATED 3X

Last night, the first topic on the agenda for the Discussion Session was deer.  A conference call with White Buffalo's wildlife biologist, Anthony DeNicola was scheduled. Unfortunately, that call did not take place since "Tony" was on an island thirty miles off of Virginia and could not get a signal from the cell phone that was flown to him. He did send a report to the commission which Tom Kelley shared at the meeting.

Since this is my blog, I will point out what I believe are his most significant findings. Mt. Lebanon can biologically support many more deer. Socially, it is up to the community what it will support. I liked how Tom Kelley made the point of saying "dead deer" reports vs. Kristen's "deer incident" report, which included sightings of deer in yards.

To reduce the deer population, it would be in two phases:

• Phase 1 Reduce the population through culling and sterilization
• Phase 2 Reduce the population through culling and sterilization

Their cost for sterilization would be $1000 per deer. Cost for culling would be between $200 to $400 plus a $75 processing fee per deer. Sterilization would be more cost effective in the long run since unsterilized deer could produce 2-3 fawns per year.

Kristen reported that Tony felt that there were many more deer than what the aerial survey showed. I am not sure how that is.

Matt Kluck said that the report shows in black and white that Mt. Lebanon could support many more deer.

Kelly Fraasch asked when the commission could have a conference call with Maryland. http://www.deerfriendly.com/deer-population-control Maryland has had a successful nonlethal program using surgical sterilization.

Dave Brumfield prefers sterilization because it is safer. I would think Kristen would too, since she felt that dogs on leashes in Williamsburg was unsafe.

I have uploaded the podcast from last night's discussion session. It is available here. The podcast begins with deer.

Update September 24, 2013 11:42 PM Please click on the link I have provided in the blog post. Scroll down a bit and you will see Kelly's four page document on "Deer in Mt. Lebanon." It is linked to my Google Docs.

Mt. Lebanon hiring firm to count deer February 7, 2013 Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
... [Commisioner] Mrs. Fraasch has composed and posted online a four-page document, "Deer in Mt. Lebanon [PDF]," ... she expresses her opposition to hunting by rifle or bow, instead favoring sterilization by removal of does' ovaries as a viable option. She cites a significant cost savings over the long term and mitigation of some hazards associated with culling...

Update September 24, 2013 1:33 PM Here is a copy of the White Tailed Deer Population Control Options presented by Tom Kelley at last night's meeting.

Update September 26, 2013 9:15 AM Speaking of Bibles (see 10:43 PM), there is this.

Swimming pool bids

I don't have any details, except there was a very long executive session tonight before the meeting. A topic was added to the agenda tonight at the beginning of the commission meeting.

The swimming pool work will be rebid. I have to listen to the meeting again for any other details. As you might recall, a lawsuit resulted from the first bid opening.

This just in UPDATED

I had emailed the school board on Friday asking about Timmy's 2014-2019 contract. This just in from Elaine Cappucci.

From:	Elaine Cappucci <ECappucci@mtlsd.net>
To:	egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>; School Board Email list <SchoolBoardEmaillist@mtlsd.net>
Subject:	RE: Contract
Date:	Mon, Sep 23, 2013 9:44 am

---

The contract is signed and will be posted on the District website this week.


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

Of course, Timmy's 2012-2013 goals are still posted on the school district website. http://www.mtlsd.org/superintendent/goals.asp (Saved in Google Docs) I am amazed how the board has a year's notice, yet never seems to get the Superintendent Goals worked out.  The good news is that the board has a contract approved for six years from now.

Update September 23, 2013 3:01 PM To have everything in one place, here is the link to The Almanac's Lebo superintendent gets new 5-year contract (Saved in Google Docs)

TERC Investigations continues

In the earlier post Are families leaving Lebo? UPDATED, a comment was made which was absolutely offensive to me. No, not the one using the word "whores," but the one stated at 1:12 PM on September 18, 2013.

Hundreds of parents in Mt Lebo are unhappy with the state of math in our schools.

Hundreds.  In fact, people are still signing the math petition, PETITION TO ASK THE MT. LEBANON SCHOOL DISTRICT TO REVIEW K-5 MATH CURRICULUM THE USE OF TERC INVESTIGATIONS

From what I understand, the math parents met with Dr. Steinhauer and Dr. Irvin (from Lincoln) in early summer. This was after the school board told the parents to sit down and be quiet. The math family most outspoken at the school board meeting, pulled their children out of Mt. Lebanon Schools. I cannot get any solid numbers (ironic, huh?) on how many children were pulled out of the school system due to the math program, but at least five families left one elementary school because of TERC Investigations.

Nothing has changed. Children are not taught how to stack and carry and borrow. Fourth graders are still reviewing addition!

Which brings me to the following question. What is the status of Deb Allen's contract? She was supposed to be gone three years ago.

Tone it down, guys

A comment was made on September 17, 2013 at 10:10 PM which is not sitting well with the Democratic Committee in Mt. Lebanon. In a personal email:

I know we have only met a couple of times but I consider you a friend. It was brought to my attention that our school directors were referred to as "whores" on a post that you permitted to appear on your blog. Several of these directors are my friends. How can I continue to be your friend if you allow this awful term to be used in relation to other friends?

I replied with:

Thank you for your email. I do appreciate your concern, however many of the comments published on my blog do not reflect my opinion. I do know that some of your friends have not been kind on my blog and elsewhere, so I hesitate to start editing comments. Freedom of speech is one of our constitutional rights. 

To which I received:

Please inform me in the future if any elected official from the Democratic Party addresses you w/such vulgarity.

So I am asking Lebo Citizens readers a favor. Could you please tone it down when referring to our school board? Even though these elected officials have hired a campaign manager to solicit funds to cover their extravagant spending habits, that doesn't make them...well, you know, that word. They can roll their eyes at us, treat us with disrespect, display open contempt, break the law during elections, submit hurtful anonymous posts to this blog, and cause us financial hardship, they are volunteers.

Thanks for your help.

Timmy and Susan, PBT is looking for you!

Attention all Tweeters

The Pittsburgh Business Times is hosting another social media contest. This time, they are looking for effective Twitter users. Now is the time to make our superintendent shine as brightly as our new water fountains at the high school. Feeling bad that mtl Magazine didn't win the last social madness contest? Nominate our public information officer. Remember, this time it is individuals, not companies.

I don't tweet, so please do not nominate me.

Who are the most influential tweeters in the Pittsburgh business community?

The Pittsburgh Business Times is looking for the region's most influential, entertaining and most effective Twitter users in the business community. We are asking you, our readers and our social media followers, who do you follow and why?

Here is what we're looking for:

• Individuals, not companies
• Pittsburgh-area individuals who are influential on Twitter, whether it's because of their impact in the community, because they have a large following, because they engage with their followers, or because they are just entertaining.

Nominations are open through Friday, Nov. 29. Feel free to nominate as many people as you want. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Pravlik at mpravlik@bizjournals.com, @PBT_Melissaor 412-208-3831.

Follow the Pittsburgh Business Times onTwitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

Melissa Pravlik is the social engagement manager at the Pittsburgh Business Times. Contact her at mpravlik@bizjournals.com or 412-208-3831.

Letter to the Editor

Lebo Citizens reader and frequent commenter John David Kendrick volunteered to record State Representative Dan Miller's Democratic Policy Committee Hearing on Schools: The Role of the State, Parents, and the Community. John submitted the following letter to the editor.

Earlier this afternoon State Representative Dan Miller facilitated a meeting of the PA House Democratic Policy Committee at the Mt Lebanon Municipal Building. Representative Miller graciously permitted us to place our tape recorder right in front of him so that we could capture the entire meeting. The dialog of the entire meeting is posted here: State Rep. Dan Miller's Public Hearing

I want to personally thank Representative Miller for having this public meeting in our municipal building this afternoon. Whether or not you agree with the political positions of the participants, it is a great lesson in civics to watch how our government works. Everyone should make a reasonable effort to attend when these meetings are available. Finally, I’ll leave it to all of you to listen to the conversation and judge for yourselves and comment below; but I will offer some of my impressions from the meeting and a few questions to mull over as you listen to today’s presentation:

 
1. The comments from the three superintendents were largely gripes about charter and cyber schools. The first problem facing the districts is the loss of pupil revenue as students exit for cyber or charter schools. The second problem facing the districts is the lack of financial agility so that they can scale their resources in proportion to the loss of students who exercise their choice to leave. 

a. Has anyone thought about why these rigid, high fixed costs are in place?
b. Has anyone thought about who put these high fixed costs in place?
c. Would a district based cyber school be an effective alternative as the superintendents suggested, or would there be an agency problem where the fox (the teachers union) is watching the hen house? 

 
2. The comments concerning children with autism were interesting and heartfelt – particularly the commentary by Ward Three Commissioner Kristen Linfante. 

 
3. The final comments concerning drug related programs were largely related to stories about those who were impacted by drug abuse and the programs in place to assist victims of the drug epidemic.

There were a few moments that captured my curiosity: 

 
1. PA State Representative Margo Davidson said that she didn’t support the vilification of the cyber and charter schools. Why is it that an urban district representative from a major union city would value cyber or charter schools as an effective alternative to traditional classroom based instruction?

 
2. PA State Representative Erin Molchany asked the three superintendents for the career profile of their graduating classes – none were really able to provide a clear answer. 

a. Are our school districts executing an education process with a silo mentality?
b. Shouldn’t the schools be thinking about specific objectives and directing resources in a targeted manner to maximize the economic benefit from our expenditures in education? - and shouldn’t the school superintendents be tracking the successful assimilation of their graduates into PA’s economy and thinking about corrective actions to their programs if their students leave unprepared?

It was a good meeting, and the most of the participants were genuinely interested in the issues that they discussed. What I felt was missing was a high-level state initiative that could pull all of the issues, gripes and concerns into unified strategy that I feel could alleviate the symptoms of a much larger problem.

John David Kendrick

Are families leaving Lebo? UPDATED

A recent comment made to me was that several (five or six) families left one of the elementary schools over the math program. I asked someone to file a Right To Know for me asking for the number of families, per school, who left Mt. Lebanon School District this year.

You may remember one of my more popular posts, Those "math professionals" can't do math  UPDATED 6x 

It is ironic that Ed Kubit said that he was satisfied with the way Timmy handled the TERC Investigations parents considering the anonymous comment made today at 12:29 PM,

I guess Mr. Kubit feels that getting the parents to go away and be quiet is considered a success.

So the RTK request is timely. Here is the information. Right To Know response

Update September 17, 2013 6:10 PM A resident asked for the Third Day Report, which lists school enrollment by grade and building. Elaine Cappucci responded with her typical "It is on the website." Thanks to Dr. Steinhauer for taking the time to explain WHERE the report is located on the website. Third Day Report

Spending more money to raise money

In tonight's agenda:

*(11) DonorPro Software Contract: RESOLVED, That the Board approves entering into a contract with TowerCare Technologies, Inc. for DonorPro software for donor information management for the capital campaign at their stated price of $6,550 plus monthly fees based on usage.

*(12) Wealth Screening Software: RESOLVED, That the Board approves an annual subscription to FindWealth software for donor qualification for the capital campaign at their discounted price of $8,999 for the first year.

The asterisk represents new agenda items. They were not considered or discussed by the Board at its Discussion Meeting on September 9, 2013.

OMG They want to keep him through June 30, 2019

From the revised Agenda September 16, 2013 Agenda

*(2) Superintendent’s Contract Approval: RESOLVED, That the Board hereby re-elects Dr. Timothy J. Steinhauer to the position of Superintendent for a term commencing July 1, 2014 and expiring June 30, 2019, and does approve an employment contract with Dr. Steinhauer for said term and does authorize the President and Secretary or Assistant
Secretary to execute said contract with Dr. Steinhauer substantially in the form presented.

 Wasn't there an auditor's report or legislation discouraging long contracts? Is this a wise thing? Didn't we learn anything from the Sable buyout? Isn't it supposed to be limited to three years?

The asterisk represents a new agenda item. This was not considered or discussed by the Board at its Discussion Meeting on September 9, 2013. This revision appeared today, same day as the meeting.

"Schools, the Role of the State, Parent and the Community" UPDATED

mtl -- Mt. Lebanon Magazine shared a link.

September 10

mtl -- Mt. Lebanon Magazine

State Rep. Dan Miller invites you to attend a public hearing with between five and 10 state representatives, Tuesday, Sept. l7, from 2 to 4 in tMt. Lebanon Municipal Building. The discussion is titled "Schools, the Role of the State, Parent and the Community. " Many local people, including Dr. Tim Steinhauer, Commissioners Kristen Linfante and Kelly Fraasch, Police Chief Coileman McDonough, PTA President Julie Daubner, School Director Jo Posti and MRTSA's Todd Pritchard will testify. For detailed information, visit http://www.pahouse.com/Miller/

From Dan Miller's website:

Please join state Rep. Dan Miller and members of the House Democratic Policy Committee for an upcoming public hearing in your community.

EXPECTED TESTIFIERS/PARTICIPANTS:

Part 1: State-School Relationship

Dr. Tim Steinhauer – Superintendent, Mt. Lebanon School District
Dr. William Stropkaj – Superintendent, Keystone Oaks School District
Ms. Nancy Rose – Superintendent, Bethel Park School District

Part 2: Parent-school Relationship and the Parental Involvement Leave Act

Julie Daubner – President, Mt. Lebanon Council PTA
Kristen Linfante – Parent and Mt. Lebanon Commissioner
Cindy Duch – Director of Parent Advising, Peal Center

Part 3: Community-School Relationship

Coleman McDonough – Chief of Police, Mt. Lebanon Police Dept.
Josephine Posti – Mt. Lebanon Drug Taskforce and Director, Mt. Lebanon School Board
Kelly Fraasch – Mt. Lebanon Drug Taskforce and Mt. Lebanon Commissioner
Todd Pritchard – Mt. Lebanon Drug Taskforce and Chief, Medical Rescue Team South Authority

A weight room without weights is just a room

An email sent by Athletic Director John Grogan made its way to me this morning. It appears that there is no money available to equip the state-of-the-art weight room that is going in the high school. Here is his letter:

Hi everyone, 

I am writing with a favor to ask. As many of you know, we will be getting a terrific new weight room in our new facility. However, the equipment for the new facility was not part of the project. Therefore, we have had to privately raise funds to pay for the equipment. Our goal is to put the best equipment in the space to meet the needs of our student athletes! Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, our fund raising efforts have fallen short and we still have to raise a significant amount of money. 

The good news is that we received a terrific lead gift from a gentleman named Preston McMurry from the class of 1955. Preston donated $50,000 dollars toward the weight room!! However, we still have a ways to go. 

Please find attached a letter that I put together that I would ask that you send to your parents, alumni, or any other groups that support us to help raise the money we need to equip the room properly for our student athletes. Feel free to change the letter as you see fit – just wanted to provide an example. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. 

As you will see in the letter, donations can be sent to the Blue Devil Club and we would ask that they fill out the donation card or make sure that they write weight room in the memo line. I have worked with the Blue Devil Club to ensure that all donations for the weight room are put into a separate account to be specifically used for the equipment to go into the room. 

Again, I know this is unusual but as you have seen in the past we have a good plan for that room and I’m hopeful that we can raise the money to provide the equipment our teams need to succeed. 

In advance, thanks for any help that you provide!!

John

---

MTLSD DISCLAIMER: THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE ADDRESSEE AND MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, AND EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. IF YOU ARE 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, RETENTION, DISTRIBUTION, OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY.

TADA! The 2013-14 Budget has been posted!!

I never thought this day would come. The 2013-14 Final Budget approved on May 20, 2013 has finally been posted on the School District website. After filing RTKs and sending emails to the School District, it is available here. The document contains 199 pages, so have fun!

Dog Pilot Program Fails

The Commissioners voted tonight on Dave Brumfield's Pilot Program to allow leashed dogs in Williamsburg Park.

The vote was 2 - 2. Dave Brumfield and Kelly Fraasch voted for it. Kristen Linfante and John Bendel voted against it. Matt Kluck was not present. Motion failed.

Parent Questions Integrity and Character of Volleyball Coach UPDATED 2X

It is after 4:00 PM and the School District has yet to air the school board meeting from last night. A resident has cited flagrant violations as per the PIAA.  The coach has excluded freshmen from the team, and allowed a parent of a player to choose the team members, as I understand it. Elaine Cappucci said that the Board will not address this issue. The resident shared two separate emails from the girls' volleyball coach. Unfortunately, Larry Lebowitz was not present, which disappointed the speaker since his name was first on the list.

Mary Birks explained that she had trouble with [this]* a coach, as well.

I uploaded the entire podcast here.  The last seven minutes of the meeting contain the parent's comments. This has not been shared on public TV so far.

September 10, 2013 11:51 PM The citizen's comment is available here.

September 11, 2013 4:29 PM *Based on a comment made at 4:17 PM, I have updated the post.

Brew Fest 2013

Join us at the popular 4th annual Brew Fest on September 21st from 4-7pm at the Academy Lot behind The Saloon. Enjoy listening to the band, Good Brother Earl, while you get to sip some of the finest local beers from Frank Fuhrer Wholesale Co.

BENEFITS: Mt. Lebanon Veterans Memorial and Veterans Breakfast Club for ongoing maintenance and programming. In addition to providing an ongoing care fund for the Veterans Memorial, this year’s Brew Fest will also support a new effort to provide important programming at the Memorial including recognition of patriotic holidays.

TICKETS: $30 donation per person includes a commemorative glass.

Please purchase your tickets online at https://lebostore.mtlebanon.org/store/show/id/24.

If you need to purchase your ticket in person, please stop by the Municipal Building or Public Safety Building Monday-Friday 9-5pm.

*Important Information: Minors under the age of 21 will not be allowed in the venue. Please refrain from bringing your infant /child to this event.

FOOD: Available from Bados, Pitaland and Walnut Grill
Presented by: Giant Eagle Market District
Sponsored by: Howard Hanna, Representative Daniel Miller and Integrated Transactions
Supported By: Veterans Breakfast Club, The Saloon, Mt Lebanon Partnership, George Jackson Promotions and Senator Matt Smith.

Interested in Volunteering? For further information contact Todd at 412.623.9029 email todd@veteransbreakfastclub.com or Nick Sohyda at 412.343.3402 nsohyda@mtlebanon.org.

OMG! I love this guy!

A married, Easton, PA man with three home schooled children protested his school taxes by paying his tax bill with 7,143  $1 bills.

http://youtu.be/kPRGblJTPRE

Fernandes elaborated on-camera about his reasons, declaring that he regarded money taken for school taxes as "stolen." "We homeschool our kids, so we don’t even use the public school system, yet I’m being forced to pay all this money into a public school system that I don’t use, don’t want, don’t need. And I don’t think that’s really either fair, just or even ethical," he said. "It would be the equivalent if McDonald’s were to force vegetarians to pay for their cheeseburgers," he said. "I’m a big proponent of education," he said, but clarified by saying, "Education can be provided more efficiently in a free market."

"You can’t play the game of politics," he said. "This isn’t about politics. This is about morality. This is about ethics. so I’m not interested in going to a school board and asking them for more of my money."

"I hope that everybody out there that’s listening to this, everybody out there that sees this, they start thinking about things. Let’s have a conversation," Fernandes said, who again said schools would be better if they fell under a true free-market system. "I hear people who have kids in the school system complaining all the time. And they get nowhere. Because there’s no incentive for them to provide better service."

The video is almost fourteen minutes long, but it goes quickly. You will probably start cheering for the guy. Everything he says is spot on, almost like he lives in Mt. Lebanon and has a school board and administration just like ours. We work hard for our money and if we don't pay our taxes, they take our home. There is no accountability. We can have a superintendent block us from social media if he doesn't like us, a school board ignore our emails or force us to file Right To Knows for public information, a finance director who buries budgets, school board directors who stick us with renovation projects without a referendum, and for all that foreclose on our homes if we don't pay for it all. I LOVE this guy!!!

Timmy blocked me on Twitter. UPDATED 2X

Update September 8, 2013 9:01 AM  Tucker Arensberg is the School District's solicitor. This is from Google Analytics, showing the visits Tucker Arensberg has made to my blog during and after Timmy's Twittering Travels.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Update September 8, 2013 11:58 AM Tucker Arensberg's opinion about Timmy and Twitter can be found here.

Change Orders for September

From Monday's School Board Meeting Agenda:

Change Orders for High School Renovation Project – The following change orders are presented for Board consideration. All the change orders listed below (totaling $304,509) have been reviewed by the architect, PJ Dick and the District administration.

a. GC-72-151 to Nello for $10,603 to upgrade adhesive and primer,

b. GC-73-152 to Nello for $5,038 for extra masonry work for rain water conductors and fire extinguisher cabinets,

c. GC-74-153 to Nello for $8,275 to cut two openings in concrete walls,

d. GC-75-154 to Nello for $8,435 to modify pool edge,

e. GC-76-155 to Nello for $17,504 for soffit framing of breezeway,

f. GC-77-156 to Nello for $16,882 for door and hardware changes,

g. GC-78-157 to Nello for $15,757 to laminate corridor side of classroom walls,

h. GC-79-158 to Nello for $1,123 to add window in athletic facility,

i. GC-80-159 to Nello for $22,734 to reconstruct stairwells,

j. GC-81-160 to Nello for $8,509 for fire enclosure,

k. ME-11-161 to McKamish for $10,499 for cooling tower steel bracing and fire damper,

l. ME-12-162 to McKamish for $41,508 to utilize existing hot and cold water lines,

m. ME-13-163 to McKamish for $11,890 to add isolation valves,

n. PL-21-164 to Vrabel for $8,925 to modify existing floor drains, cooling towers and hot water heater pads,

o. PL-22-165 to Vrabel for $14,369 to maintain existing water feeds,

p. EL-41-166 to Farfield for $11,603 to change power feeds and add electric heater,

q. EL-42-167 to Farfield for $20,437 to modify power in athletic facility and relocate variable frequency drives,

r. EL-43-168 to Farfield for $23,954 to expedite permanent power to new buildings,

s. EL-44-169 to Farfield for $20,842 for miscellaneous electrical changes,

t. EL-45-170 to Farfield for $8,164 for new electrical rooms, and

u. EL-46-171 to Farfield for $17,458 for support for cord reels.

No Quorum at Turf Board Meeting UPDATED

The guy who works on word puzzles at the Turf Board meetings recorded last night's meeting for me. I have uploaded it on lebocitizens.com.  Since there were not enough voting members for a quorum,  there was only a discussion.

Since there was no roll call, it was hard to determine who was there. I heard David Donnellan, David Franklin, John Bendel and David Brumfield's voices. There was quite a discussion about signage. David Donnellan explained why there was only one sign sold.  David Brumfield noted that the Commission could amend the ordinance, and it shouldn't be a problem. Yet another amended ordinance.

Brafferton Field bids were discussed. Bids will be opened on September 17. Hopefully, no lawsuits will result.

John Bendel discussed turfing Middle and Wildcat Fields. He believes that the majority of the commission would be in favor of allocating $400,00 to $475,000 from the unassigned funds for turf. The Commission has asked the engineer to look at Mellon turfing. Dave Brumfield was hoping that the SAB could help raise funds for this project. Dave Brumfield is pushing for Mellon which would be a plus for the business district. School Board Director Ed Kubit was not present. This was after the discussion of how one sign was sold.

Is it too much to ask? UPDATED

I have been trying to get the 2013-14 Final Budget posted on the MTLSD website. The Budget that I have been asking for is the detailed budget that is generally around 200 pages - at 25 cents a page, somewhat out of my price range to pay for a printed copy.  Please read the exchange below.

Re: Follow up to Right To Know
From egillen476 egillen476@aol.com
To JSzalinski JSzalinski@mtlsd.net, jklein jklein@mtlsd.net
Cc schoolboard schoolboard@mtlsd.net

Ms. Klein,
I believe this was to go to you.
Elaine Gillen

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeanine Szalinski <JSzalinski@mtlsd.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Sep 5, 2013 8:22 am
Subject: RE: Follow up to Right To Know
Jan,

I know the budget is ready and she could pick one up, but she is looking for it to be posted on the website.

Jeanine

Jeanine Szalinski
Administrative Assistant/Open Records Officer/
Assistant Board Secretary
Superintendent's Office
Mt. Lebanon School District
7 Horsman Drive
Pittsburgh PA  15228
412.344.2077



-----Original Message-----
From: egillen476@aol.com [mailto:egillen476@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2013 8:02 AM
To: Jeanine Szalinski
Cc: School Board Email list
Subject: Follow up to Right To Know

Good morning Mrs. Szalinski,
Back in June, I had filed a RTK for the Final Budget. I was looking for the complete budget, as posted here.
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/finance.asp You had told me that the state gave you until August to make it available. I see that in July 2011, the 2011-2012 Budget was posted. As of now, nothing has been posted on the MTLSD website. When will it become available to the public?
Thank you.
Elaine

---

MTLSD DISCLAIMER: THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE ADDRESSEE AND MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, AND EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. IF YOU ARE 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, RETENTION, DISTRIBUTION, OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY.

I have not received neither a follow up email from the School District nor a link to the document online.

September 5, 2013 4:23 PM I heard back from Jan Klein.

Mrs. Gillen,

The report is now complete. The person who posts it to the website anticipates she will complete that function by the end of next week. 
Respectfully,

Jan

Janice Klein
Director of Business
Mt. Lebanon School District
7 Horsman Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412-344-2098 (office)
412-559-9310 (cell)

I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom - Anatole France

Introducing Andrew McCreery and Bonnie Cross

To: All Employees 

 I am very pleased to announce two key additions to the management team of the municipality. Both a new Director of Finance and a new Assistant to the Manager for Human Resources will begin work on Monday, September 9th. 

 Andrew McCreery will be the new Director of Finance. Andrew is a Mt. Lebanon resident. He is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently working as the Finance Officer and Acting Borough Manager for the Borough of Jefferson Hills. He previously worked for six years as Accounting Manager for the Township of Upper St. Clair. Andrew brings a great public accounting background to the position. As Chief Financial Officer, Andrew will be responsible for all fiscal activities including accounting, budgeting, cash management, expenditure control, and financial administration and analysis. 

 Bonnie Cross will become the new Assistant to the Manager and personnel officer. For the past ten years, Bonnie was a Benefit Manager for the State of Ohio, responsible for overseeing the State’s workers compensation and flexible spending programs. Prior to her State job, Bonnie worked for the City of Upper Arlington Ohio, a first ring suburb of Columbus, where she served as Assistant City Manager. In that capacity she participated in the collective bargaining process and administered the human resources function for the organization. Bonnie received a Masters of Public Administration from Kent State University and a B.A. from Seton Hill College. She holds a SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) designation. In Mt. Lebanon, she will be responsible for all human resources programs and activities. 

 Please join me in welcoming both Andrew and Bonnie to our organization. 

 Steve Feller

What if there was another park added? UPDATED 2x

I uploaded the podcast of last night's Parks Advisory Board meeting. It is available here. I have not had time to create a soundbite of the Williamsburg Park portion of the meeting, but will try to get to it later today and add it as an update. Here are three photos that I took yesterday of Williamsburg Park. The photos don't do it justice. It is gorgeous.

The Williamsburg Park discussion is during the last 6 minutes or so of the meeting. One of the PAB members gave an update about the Williamsburg experiment. Kelly Fraasch asked, "What if there was another park added?" Oh great. Now we will have more people fighting. This is exactly what I predicted. The animosity will spread throughout the community. Can't we just clear off an area in one of the passive parks for dogs and forget the neighborhood parks? Can't we just stick with the current ordinance and worry about more important issues? More time has been spent over this than the pool fiasco. That is worrisome to me.

Update September 4, 2013 5:36 PM Here is the soundbite to the PAB meeting concerning Williamsburg Park.

Update September 5, 2013 8:55 AM A Lebo Citizens reader sent this photo of the sign in Iroquois Park taken yesterday. 

Iroquois Park

First Day of School! UPDATED

First Day of School - Pittsburgh Dad

Kids should be seeing lots of changes today, thanks to the Impressive high school renovation that cost taxpayers more than $100M. Parents can get a tour of the high school renovation here.

The School District website suggests that we follow Timmy's Tweets all day. Follow Timmy on Twitter @mtlsdsuper. He'll be visiting schools and sharing photos throughout the day. Timmy wears many hats; hard hat, super Super, and now PIO. Why do we have a Director of Communications at Mt. Lebanon? Timmy is doing a great job. I am excited.

On another note, Pittsburgh Business Times had an article last week showing that Mt. Lebanon enrollment is down 0.2%. Enrollment in 2012 was 5,275 while 2008 was slightly more at 5,287 students.

As of today, September 3, 2013, no 2013-14 Final Budget has been posted on the MTLSD website.

Update September 3, 2013 6:15 PM A 2:24 PM LeboALERT posted:

Have a peek inside the high school renovations w/Superintendent Tim Steinhauer on our video tour: http://lebomag.com/14342/learning-spaces-new-places/

****

This is how our Superintendent spent his day today.

Tweets

1. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper6h

   The students of Mt. Lebanon are in great hands.

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2. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper6h

   5 hours, 10 schools and 13 miles later I've returned to my office at the high school - had a great morning.

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3. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper6h

   #mtlebo lunch boxes lined up - lunch is just around the corner pic.twitter.com/WkX8GhGs60

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4. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper6h

   #mtlebo and finally Washington's welcome back sign pic.twitter.com/Fag5rREP6E

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5. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper6h

   #mtlebo lunchtime at Mellon - 6th grade pic.twitter.com/qNOTRlCwEn

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6. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper7h

   #mtlebo Mellon's welcome back sign - happy to have our middle schoolers back pic.twitter.com/NKKugzxPZy

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7. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper7h

   #mtlebo Markham'a welcome sign pic.twitter.com/PdLvF5FPon

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8. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper7h

   #mtlebo Markham Elementary pic.twitter.com/sEyvH5DARc

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9. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper8h

   #mtlebo Howe is hard at work. Sometimes you can just feel that learning is already occurring pic.twitter.com/yU5TNtef1W

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10. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper8h

    #mtlebo Howe's goose - great story how they help each other pic.twitter.com/VpDAyd8bjJ

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11. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper8h

    #mtlebo Howe Elementary School's welcome back sign pic.twitter.com/kRsq7QykY4

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12. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper9h

    Lincoln is in the best location. Walked Dr. Irvin up for a quick coffee on Beverly. This is year 2 for her - doing a great job

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13. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper9h

    Was able to get in to several classrooms at Lincoln - they are off to a great start pic.twitter.com/RMCleSOrvf

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14. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper9h

    #mtlebo Lincoln's welcome back sign - a great start to a great year pic.twitter.com/0Si8S15zXL

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15. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper9h

    #mtlebo Hoover Elementary welcome back sign - awesome! pic.twitter.com/eAD9Xnt3dc

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16. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper9h

    #mtlebo Hoover elementary school gathering pic.twitter.com/LyXcdwLpJb

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17. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper9h

    #mtlebo a smile goes a long way in helping students and parents feel welcome

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18. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper10h

    #mtlebo principal Thornton welcomes students back to Jefferson elementary school pic.twitter.com/FEQJNPyr3k

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19. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper10h

    #mtlebo a great place to start the year - 7th grade Jefferson MS homeroom in the band room pic.twitter.com/eC18jIaAyo

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20. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper10h

    #mtlebo our wonderful crossing guards at work pic.twitter.com/ZyVb28F65v

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21. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper11h

    #mtlebo 6th floor B building teachers are ready to welcome back students pic.twitter.com/ARLrFnHyAG

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22. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper11h

    #mtlebo the high school welcomes students back this morning pic.twitter.com/N8hMBaHg2C

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23. Tim Steinhauer ‏@mtlsdsuper12h

    First day of school. Just finished a quick run through foggy #Mtlebo. The community is awakening. Looks like it's going to be a great day.

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