How many people received the the "Century of Excellence Capital Campaign" informational packet this week? Not a cheap packet to produce and cost $2 to mail. What a waste! Your fundraiser isn't working, and in true current Mt. Lebanon fashion, you keep throwing more money at an idea that isn't showing results. My husband and I won't be attending and we won't be donating.The reader was kind enough to scan the packet for me and thanks to her, I am able to share with everyone.
Introduction letter
Financial Summary
The Case for Philanthropic Support
Area of Focus
FAQ
Strategic Plan
It came in a large color pocket folder with 4 "folds," lots of pictures and one pocket.. not cheap. Postage stamp on the envelope was $2.03.
Update April 6, 2015 7:57 AM The original campaign of $30 million was an attempt to avoid taking out a second bond. Since that was a little aggressive, the amount was reduced to $15 million and wrapped a second bond. Pursuant Ketchum advised that the campaign fund total should be $6 million, with $3 million going in an endowment and $3 million going toward capital funds. The high school renovation was to provide a 21st century education. Looking at the immediate needs breakdown, we bought ourselves a very expensive sports complex which we can't afford.
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| $3 Million Endowment Fund |
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| $3 Million Immediate Capital Needs |
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| Total $6 Million Campaign |
So how were the Lebo Citizens readers lucky enough to be singled out? I suppose they "may appear to be easy marks for a donation."
ReplyDeleteElaine
Uh, whose idea was it to put in the "Case for Philanthropy" section the line about providing private school opportunities for public school kids? Who is going to want to donate to that privilige?
ReplyDeleteAnd--whose idea was it to claim that the poor, poor school district just can't raise real estate taxes enough? I guess when the truth won't suffice, lie.
I just read those two pages--that will be enough for me.
- Jason M.
Right off the bat the first paragraph is full of BS. The PDE did a study a few years back and it was discovered that something like 24 or 27% of MTL graduates that entered state universities needed math or English remediation before moving on with their college education.
ReplyDeleteIn what business is a faulty product acceptable and how long is it allowed before the production is examined closely.
Even if this horribly misguided effort were to be secure funding from a brain dead public, I'll bet the farm that every year MTLSD would continue to develop a "fake budget" every January for application of ACT 1 millaqe increase waivers, and the PDE would grant the waivers without questions.
ReplyDeleteSame ol', same ol' BS....you can't put lipstick on this old pig and think you have a beauty queen !
http://triblive.com/mobile/6376740-96/remedial-students-college
ReplyDelete"Many college freshmen need remedial work, often delaying graduation, increasing costs"
"The finding, based on 2012 statistics — coupled with a study this spring of the National Assessment of Educational Progress that found nearly four in 10 high school seniors lack reading and math skills for entry-level college work — is prompting some educators to review what they do."
While MTL does do better than most school districts, around 1 in 5 still need remedial help as college freshman in reading and math.
Something doesn't make sense to me. At the same time Mt. Lebanon is investing over $110 million to renovate the high school, we're hitting up people to donate money to fund grants for teachers. To me this makes Mt. Lebanon look awfully greedy.
ReplyDeleteNick M.
It's ironic that the school district invested more money than necessary in a high school renovation project and now is looking for volunteers to bail them out. Who do they think they are?
ReplyDeleteSince the district blamed their financial woes on the previous Governor Corbett, now that they have their preferred Governor Wolf why are they not relaxing and believing that the new D governor will support their exorbitant spending habits?
ReplyDeleteWhile there is a bit of a fear factor that the school district is putting on its citizens (I seem to remember a Director or two or three suggesting some of these issues) I am not sure how successful the program will be.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I hope the program is successful and I will not bad-mouth it. It is better for all of us if this kind of thing works.
It would have worked better if these same Posti's and Walton's would have listened the first time around to how harmful the High School Project finance scheme was going to be to the taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon.
I find it incredibly ironic that those same folks who pushed for an overpriced projects are now out begging for dollars! Remeley, Kubit, Cappucci, Walton, Posti, Steinhauer, etc.
It's like now they say, "Oh crap, we can't raise taxes much anymore due to Act 1 which means we have to cut services and teachers to avoid referendum". Um, yeah, just like you were told it would.
Ok, maybe I am a little bitter. FROM THIS POINT, I won't say anything more bad about it!
One more point...the goal is now $6 million.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the research has show $30,000,000 is a bit too much to ask.
Heck, Walton should be able to give half that herself.
Leibowitz can get the rest from the corporations he helps hire foreign workers for at reduced wages.
Geez, I thought it would be easier to be supportive!
THAT's the last time I will be negative!
It really would be a benefit to have this be a success!
Do not overlook the fact that the board and administrators sold the community on a high school project that in their opinion would be completed for under $100 million.
ReplyDeleteNow these are supposedly brilliant, well-educated, smarter than you or me people, that told 4,000 petition signers to go away-- they had everything under control.
Well, unfortunately for us, they don't!
The high school proect is over budget and their pension plan is a train wreck.
Now, they come to the taxpayers with tin cup in hand, expecting us to pay even more for their indulgences.
Nowhere in the Capital Campaign do I find anything that remotely suggest that they've learned their lessons.
What changes are they going to make to improve the job they do? Test schools, graduation rates and all measures of performance are flat and have been for years. Does it really take $2 million dollar average yearly revenue increases to do the same job year after year after year?
How long can the community sustain that?
Apparently, not long otherwise why the sudden need for the Capital Campaign?
I think perhaps companies like GM, PNC, Dicks, Eat 'n Park, Howard Hanna should take a lesson from the school district.
ReplyDeleteThey could start Capital Campaigns that tell everyone how the work they do make life so much better and easier so therefore you should donate money to them so they can make even more money from you.
I'm still learning Numbers on my Mac, so it isn't perfect. With that said, please check the pie charts that I added in the update. The data came from here.
ReplyDeleteElaine
A $3,000,000 endowment fund ? If such a fund existed, it might generate 5%/yr. in net earnings or $150,000. In a $83,000,000 annual operating budget, that $150,000 would represent only 0.18% of total funding required - hardly measurable or noteworthy.
ReplyDeleteWho's kidding who here ?
9:01, these are the same people that figured out charging students $25 to park at the school (and immediately raising it to $50) would ease budget problems.
ReplyDeleteWhile of course they reserve the most preferred spots for themselves for free.
It's all for the kids.
Strategic Plan ? ? There is absolutely nothing measurable here, no base lines from which factual data can be used to measure progress or lack thereof. The planning term "goal" means a measurable degree of attainment of an agreed upon plan performance objective.
ReplyDeleteHoly smoke, in the graph titled "Immediate Capital Needs"
ReplyDeleteAcademics need 20%
Art need 13%
and Innovation needs 21%.
While athletics needs 43%!
Is this an organization that has completely lost sight of their primary objective or what?
The PA Dept. of Education doesn't even require a school district to have a pool and these people believe their biggest single need is athletics.
I guess it is true, a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but we do have mocha lattes in the cafeteria, right.
9:27, you got it right. If there is no goal line they can never be criticized for not reaching it! Therefore they never fail.
9:27 that pretty funny considering that the bulk of the staff very existence depends on setting precise goals that their students must meet before moving on to the next level.
ReplyDeleteEven though for themselves moving to the next jump step in salary requires nothing more than being in their set for a specific number of years.
It also doesn't seem like this campaign is tapping into alumni contacts. Colleges and universities gather quite a few alumni donations. Perhaps adequate alumni records haven't been maintained? At any rate, I've never been contacted and all of the former classmates that I've spoken with haven't been contacted either. Seems like a lost opportunity to me.
ReplyDelete10:13 AM, they are going for the low hanging fruit. You, your classmates, and I don't earn enough money to be contacted.
ReplyDeleteElaine
10:13, if they let you and all the other alumni in they'd have to include you in their tight little "Benefactors Club" where you get to act holier than thou, claim a tax deduction and get some perk for your kids.
ReplyDeleteThere will be plenty of time to get collared for your petty donation once the bigwigs get their due.
I got the mess in the mail and my wife took a red Sharpie and wrote in large letters "Return to Beggars" and put in the mailbox. My business nor I will donate a dime till an outside audit is done. Things do NOT add up! Is anyone now questioning that residents were lied to about the costs of the High School? They knew they had to lie to keep it away from the voters. We need former School Board members to WOMAN-UP/MAN-UP and set the record straight!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much of her own money Jan "This is my community" Klein has pumped into the Capital Canpaign?
ReplyDeleteHere's a fund raising idea for the school district.
ReplyDeleteRather than create their own Strategi Plan graph, why don't they run a contest.
For a $10 entry fee you get to submit your own Strategic Plan diagram.
The one with the most meaningless buzz words and nebulous goals on a single page wins $100.
Couldn't be any more worthless than the piece of valueless crap they created.
Are we sure these people have degrees?
9:01 AM, yes and that $150,000 based on 1.00 mill = $2,600,000 equates to only 0.058 mills - the expected increase to be imposed by the school board for 2015-16 is 0.55 mills, almost 10 times an endowment amount
ReplyDeleteWho's kidding whom ? This endowment crap is a subterfuge, a "feel good" deception. Neither the public nor likely the entire school board realize the legal ownership of funds that go into a Pittsburgh Foundation account transfers to the Pittsburgh Foundation.
Look at page 116 of the 2014 CAFR Report.
ReplyDeleteEXPENDITURES COST/STUDENT
2005 - $85,091,432 $15,457
2006 - $76,925,740 $14,104
2007 - $70,430,620 $12,956
2008 - $72,607,522 $13,406
2009 - $73,263,798 $13,839
2010 - $76,621,738 $14,451
2011 - $79,098,228 $15,015
2012 - $90,460,219 $17,078
2013 - $122,530,022 $23,259
2014 - $114,630,682 $21,543
The Foundation managers make a tidy sum for basically creating nothing.
ReplyDeleteIf the school board had any interest in doing what's right, they would agree to an independent audit. But they don't so they won't.
ReplyDeleteI suspect a third party look at the books would reveal, at the very least, a level of incompetence usually associated with large city governments. However, it might also reveal a level of dishonesty and corruption usually reserved for third world republics. And that, friends, would not only vindicate critics of the school project but also present possible criminal charges for those involved with pushing the idea.
Has there ever been a more expensive high school renovation project in PA or in the tri-state area?
ReplyDeleteAnother BIG LIE perpetrated by the Board and Administration.
ReplyDeleteLook at the second item in Capital Campaign's FAQ page at the beginning of this post.
They state in item #1, second bullet point: "State funding for public schools has remained flat and has not kept pace with the rising costs of education... ."
They repeat it again in item #2, "State funding for public schools has remained flat and has not kept pace with the rising costs of education."
But, then look at the district's own 2014 CAFR Report on page 33, Table 8 - Budgeted Revenues
State: 2013-14 $15,082,599
State: 2014-15 $18,220,520
An increase of $3,137,681 for a 20.8% increase over the previous year.
I didn't create those numbers, they're in the 2014 CAFR!
Now why in the world would Ms. Klein budget over 20% more state revenue in 2014-15 over the previous year if state funding has been flat?
I guess they truly believe that if you repeat something enough times it becomes true by default.
For this budgeting and accounting Klein wins an award... really?
Look at "Governmental Funds Revenue - Last Ten Fiscal Years" on page 96 of the 2014 CAFR.
ReplyDeleteTotal State Sources:
2005 - $10,756,580
2006 - $11,000,869
2007 - $12,438,395
2008 - $12,692,326
2009 - $14,055,087
2010 - $13,367,148
2011 - $13,086,249
2012 - $13,221,585
2013 - $15,014,672
2014 - $16,334,004
Doesn't read like state revenue is exactly flat does it!
Three school board directors are up for re-election; Elaine Cappucci, Larry Lebowitz, and Bill Cooper. I understand that six are running for five seats. Which one should go? Elaine Cappucci is co-chair of the high school project and as past president of the school board, would snarl at residents who challenged her during questions and comments. Larry "I'm excited" Lebowitz is co-chair with Carol Walton of the Century of Excellence fundraising campaign and undermines the spirit of the law to exclude all qualified Americans who apply for a job. Bill Cooper, probably the most benign of the three is noted for his pizza analogy.
ReplyDeleteWill we see any numbers from the campaign or are we still in the quiet phase? Will anything show up during budget discussions? I haven't been following the school board closely this year. Have we seen a list of potential cost savings? Are fees going up?
Elaine
Capucci should be first to go, although I refuse to vote for Lebowitz or Cooper. Their seats could sit empty for all I care.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, if they weren't there would we notice.
6:57, you have a point that this campaign may benefit all of us except that they've added two employees to work on it, one of which makes over $100,000/year in salary and benefits and the other makes somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000 if memory serves. Not to mention thousands of dollars in software, printing and essentials.
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9r_1biKte_bRzVHZEpvc3NMQTQ/edit
ReplyDeleteAnd people wonder how we arrived at where we are!
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/2009/cba.pdf
ReplyDeleteAccording to the collective Bargaining agreement Step 1 for a Mt. Lebanon teacher is $47,500. See page 51 in the above PDF.
Teachers with a BS/BA degree don't get the Campaign Chair's starting salary until they've gotten to Step 16 on the pay scale.
Wonder if Penn Hills might benefit from some Ponzi scheme fundraising effort like we are?
ReplyDeletehttp://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/04/06/penn-hills-school-board-overwhelmed-as-projections-show-negative-balance-of-10m/
There are too many things that concern me about this initiative to list. But as far as the leadership team, I am skeptical about the primary leader: Ms DeLuca. She arrived in Mt Lebanon from the position of Director of Development at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Ms. DeLuca was replaced at the museum by James McMahon, who appears to have a significantly stronger educational and career background:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.linkedin.com/pub/james-r-mcmahon-cfre/3/6b1/993
The leaders at the top at the Natural History Museum are all "interim" and apparently, the museum is having major financial problems.
http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5182201-74/museum-carnegie-history#axzz3WdiCMlVh
Maybe the high school needs to hire someone to teach "due diligence" to school district, municipal, and government leaders.
The CBA is interesting. The most a PhD can make is $106K? That's laughably low for a PhD. I only went to college for a few years and the last time I made less than $120K in a year was 1999. Why would anyone want to be a teacher for that amount of money?
ReplyDelete3:13 PM - you apparently are not aware that PhD teachers work only 9.5 months/ tr. for that pay level, are protected by a 50 page CBA that is the most employer restrictive/ employee beneficial you will find, they receive automatic (contract) salary increases of 4.5%/yr., their defined benefit retirement plan exceeds anything in the private sector.....on and on. Are you sure you have read and understand the CBA ?
ReplyDelete3:13 & 5:00 pm.
ReplyDeleteThey also have excellent health, dental and vision care, something that is coming harder and harder to come by in the private sector.
Also, how much is tenure worth?
But the discussion here is about the Capital Campaign. How in the world can the board justifiy DeLuca's pay package and just what has she done to earn it when it takes a teacher a decade or more to reach that level of pay.
"Content is the currency of the digital age of fundraising. Your donors expect you to share stories and information that is meaningful to them." - from a recent Pursuant Ketchum mailing
ReplyDeleteApparently, our school district and Campaign Chair didn't learn much from their association with PK.
I'd add to PK's advice above that donors aren't stupid and don't like to be deceived. In this digital age content can be fact checked at the push of a button.
Mt. Lebanon suffers from "The Fiefdom Syndrome" and left unchecked it will eventually ruin what was a great community.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fastcompany.com/bookclub/excerpts/0385510675.html
"Excerpt: The Fiefdom Syndrome: The Turf Battles That Undermine Careers and Companies -- and How to Overcome Them
by Robert J. Herbold
There is a potentially infectious condition inside virtually all organizations that can cause more damage than economic downturns, management upheavals, or global business shifts. Until now it has had no name. But this condition has been an enormous problem in all facets of business. It has impacted some of the world's leading companies, including Procter & Gamble, IBM, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft.
I call it the "fiefdom syndrome," and it happens to all organizations, large and small, profit and nonprofit. It occurs at the individual level as well. And it can significantly decrease an individual's, and a company's, effectiveness. In extreme cases, it has shaken entire industries and taken down major corporations.
The problem begins when individuals, groups, or divisions--out of fear--seek to make themselves vital to their organizations and unconsciously or sometimes deliberately try to protect their turf or reshape their environment to gain as much control as possible over what goes on.
It is a natural human tendency, probably dating back to the origin of our species. But if this human tendency isn't managed properly, the damage caused by these "fiefdoms" can begin to undermine an organization. Left untouched, fiefdoms can toll the death knell of what should have been a strong and vital organization."
1:30. Great reference. Here is an example of a fiefdom-ism: instituting conformity as a policy among school board members by permitting the president to respond to email inquiries "for the board".
ReplyDelete