The Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors held a reorganization meeting on December 1, 2014. In a unanimous vote, Lawrence Lebowitz was elected Board President and Mary Birks as Board Vice-President for a term of one year. The School Board also took action to appoint Thomas P. Peterson as School Board Solicitor and set the Board calendar for 2015.
Podcast is available
here.
We don't need Larry or Mary. We need new blood. Someone not invested in the corrupt politics in this town. Someone with integrity and ethics.
ReplyDeleteIt just keeps going in circles. Same old corruption. Of course, this is an opportunity for Larry to show leadership and start being honest and respectful of the community.
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Ok, who am I kidding. That won't happen. And Mean Muggin' Mary is next in line for the SB throne? Yeah, nothing in Lebo will change. We all justkeep throwing our money into a burn barrel.
I HOPE THE NEW SB PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT WILL CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON THE ECONOMY AS THE LEAD THE TEACHERS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS AND HS PROJECT CHANGE ORDERS!
ReplyDeleteIT'S A SURE BET TEACHERS DIDN'T SEE A 24% INCREASE IN THEIR HEALTHCARE COSTS BETWEEN 2007 AND TODAY!"
"U.S. ECONOMY
Basic Costs Squeeze Families"
"The American middle class has absorbed a steep increase in the cost of health care and other necessities as incomes have stagnated over the past half decade, a squeeze that has forced families to cut back spending on everything from clothing to restaurants.
Health-care spending by middle-income Americans rose 24% between 2007 and 2013, driven by an even larger rise in the cost of buying health insurance, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of detailed consumer-spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That hit has been accompanied by increases in spending on other necessities, including food eaten at home, rent and education, as well as the soaring cost of staying connected digitally via cellphones and home Internet service."
Correction:
ReplyDelete"...THE ECONOMY AS THE[Y] LEAD THE TEACHERS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS AND HS PROJECT CHANGE ORDERS!"
When voters in Mt Lebanon quit voting in union family members and friends something might change but till then enjoy being mugged by the corrupt union loving school board! Anyone know what the percentage of kids in Mt Lebanon are home schooled and the numbers that attend a cyber school program?
ReplyDelete9:45 AM, don't know the home schooled & cyber schooled children or the number attending private and parochial schools, but the annual CAFR's provide stats on # children living in Lebo by age classification plus enrollments of the 10 public schools by grade. Do the math (not TERC)to estimate if a RTK is rejected.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting stat is that now 78% of households in Lebo do not have children in the LEBO public schools, up from 75% from just a few years ago.
Yep, 11:17!
ReplyDeleteThat big high school renovation just doesn't seem to be attracting young, affluent families as was suggested.
Of course, Larry, Mary and Tim will argue that isn't a fair conclusion since the project isn't finished yet.
Though we can be sure the upcoming tax hikes for teacher salaries/pensions and change orders will be a magnet for young families.
- WS
Of course our excitable Board president and vice president will never, ever bring the following topic up for public discussion. They'll just demand more and more money from local, state and federal taxpayers.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.wsj.com/articles/andrew-g-biggs-public-pensions-need-gamblers-anonymous-1417563447?mobile=y
OPINION
Public Pensions Need Gamblers Anonymous
"Many individuals follow a rough “100 minus your age” rule to determine how much risk to take with their retirement savings. A 25-year-old might put 75% of his savings in stocks or other risky assets, the remaining 25% in bonds and other safer investments. A 45-year-old would hold 55% in stocks, and a 65-year-old 35%. Individuals take this risk knowing that the end balance of their IRA or 401(k) account will vary with market returns.
Now consider the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), the largest U.S. public plan and a trendsetter for others. The typical participant is around age 62, so a “100 minus age” rule would recommend that Calpers hold about 38% risky assets. In reality, Calpers holds about 75% of its portfolio in stocks and other risky assets, such as real estate, private equity and, until recently, hedge funds, despite offering benefits that, unlike IRAs or 401(k)s, it guarantees against market risk. Most other states are little different: Illinois holds 75% in risky assets; the Texas teachers’ plan holds 81%; the New York state and local plan 72%; Pennsylvania 82%; New Mexico 85%.
Managers of government pension plans counter that they have longer investment horizons and can take greater risks. But most financial economists believe that the risks of stock investments grow, not shrink, with time. Moreover, while governments may exist forever, pensions cannot take forever to pay off their losses: New accounting rules promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and taking effect this year will push plans to amortize unfunded liabilities over roughly 15 years. Even without these rules, volatile pension investments translate into volatile contribution requirements that can and have destabilized government budgets."
Unchecked and illegal transfers of money for pet projects along with unaccountable spending also contributes to destabilized government budgets. Why does Mt. Lebanon NOT have a designated Treasure on it's staff? Who is keeping accounts of municipal spending? Why do we not have a "checks and balances system" at the municipal level? Why is there no plan for keeping tabs on the taxpayer's money. Other munis in our state and elsewhere have a system. Why are there not 2 people signing checks? Is it deliberate so that, "The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing?"!!!!! It doesn't pass the "smell test!""
ReplyDelete12:04, for the same reason they keep rehiring the same auditing firm.
ReplyDeleteGreat, now two of the earliest and biggest proponents of the Taj Mahal High School Project will be front and center and accountable for a project that was suppose to come in under $100 million.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, there are no repercussions (aside from our higher taxes) for their runaway spending.
You all ready NOW to demand an outside audit? If everything is good then the School Board should welcome it as to prove everything is good. So why do they refuse to do so? What are they hiding?
ReplyDelete