Capital Campaign Catering Receipts
The Mt. Lebanon Alumni Association has been holding Tailgate BBQs for the past several years (2014, 2015, and 2016) and the receipts were run through the Capital Campaign.
As Lebo Citizens Readers know, I graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School. When I was looking through my Alumni Directory last night, I found this introduction.
Look who signed it.
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| Board of Directors |
Lebo has thousands and thousands of alumni. I wonder who the lucky one hundred invitees were. I wonder how much money was raised net of expenses. I wonder why the cost was billed to the Capital Campaign. Is the Alumni Association broke too? All this is extremely wonderous.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a guess, 10:23 PM. It might be for a high school reunion. When we had our reunion in 2012, all we were offered was a stinkin' tour. And I was not too happy about that. They got us with our real estate taxes as well as wage taxes. I know. Two separate local governments.
ReplyDeleteSo we have money going into the capital campaign from the general fund for loans. We have money going into MLFE from the general fund for salaries and benefits. The capital campaign is paying for alumni tailgates. Was the capital campaign going to pay for another tailgate for an alumni/Timmy Ticket event? Seems like they are one and the same.
Elaine
Tickets for the Alumni barbeque were $20 each. If you collect that money up front, $2000, then why would you need to take one penny from the Capital Campaign? The caterer wanted his money up front.
ReplyDeleteNick M.
Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteAren’t these some of the same people that preach about how unified Mt. Lebanon is an support inclusivity? So what are they doing, but holding their own private party and using tax-payer money to fund it.
I’m not sure but I don’t think Remely is a Lebo alumni and was their alcohol at these tailgate parties?
Alcohol is forbidden in the park.
Would be interesting to see the receipts from these events. With all the free tickets (Steinhauer, Board, select friends, etc.) I can't imagine they came close to breaking even.
ReplyDelete“Hey, we’re the Real Mt. Lebanon Blue Bloods and you’re not invited to our parties... got it!”
ReplyDelete“You peons can underwrite them, but you’re still not allowed to attend them.”
That is certainly true with the MLFE. Meetings are NOT open to the public, even though we pay for their salaries.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Hi Nick---
ReplyDeleteIf you were the caterer hired by this crew, you would want your money up front, too. I know I would. :)
Sylvia
The caterer may indeed want his money up front, and his invoices say so, but he was not so lucky on the last one for the event held on "9-23-2016." While the events of 2014 and 2015 were paid on the day before the events were held, last year Kevin Lloyd didn't get paid until six days after the soiree; note that the "Tailgate Barbecue" occurred on the 23rd of September, and his invoice is marked "paid" on the 29th. Note to Mr. Lloyd: Don't let that become a habit!
ReplyDeletePaying "up front" is a smart move for anyone providing services to political campaigns, no matter in what guise they may appear (such as "Capital Campaigns," perhaps?). Radio and TV stations routinely require prepayment for political advertising, as political campaign committees have a nasty habit of disappearing after an election.
You are exactly correct Mr. Gideon. It’s well know when dealing with politicians or committees to get the money up front.
ReplyDeleteThere are some really strange entries in the financial record for the fundraiser. Like $2,400 to Mathews for bus and $40 to Bells & Bain for a sweater.
ReplyDeleteWas the fundraiser footing the bill for bus rides for alumni for away games.
Plus who or where is the $1,200 Apple iPad?
The elitist behavior is baked into the school system. For example, at JMS in eighth grade, the students take a field trip. But when the school plans the trip to D.C., they planning it so that there isn't enough room for all the students. This year, I've heard gay 40 students will he left behind. They have the children write an essay for admission to the filed trip but it has to be "good". If it isn't good, the kid doesn't make the cut. WTF. Don't all the children have a right to a free and appropriate education including participation in field trips? What a service this district provides in leaving 40 kids behind because, at the same time, "we just don't have room".
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typos in that comment about JMS. I was interrupted and didn't have a chance to proof it. I definitely wouldn't make the it for the field trip.
ReplyDelete10:00 pm, sorry I find your comment to be unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteThere are only about 312 total students enrolled at Jefferson Middle School so that would make the eighth grade enrollment somewhere in the neighborhood of 90-120 kids.
C’mon really, is it possible that around 40% of that class is gay and then that the district is ostracizing them.
I just don’t believe it and if it is possibly true all of the parents, the PTA, the teachers’ union. and all those adults that marched for unity with Dan Miller at the Rec Center should be packing the board meetings in protest.
This smells of fake news in an attempt to discredit this blog to me. Especially since Birks has spoken in favor of the proposed LGBT municipal ordinance proposed recently.
From the Post Gazette, Sept. 22nd.
ReplyDelete“Mt. Lebanon may create panel to protect LGBT rights”
“Members of the LGBT community in Mt. Lebanon may soon have recourse against discrimination, after commission members last week introduced a new measure that would create an agency to hear and adjudicate complaints.”
“The municipality is considering forming a human relations commission, similar to one created eight years ago in Allegheny County, that bars discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and other factors in employment, housing and public accommodations.”
“The president of the Mt. Lebanon school board spoke in favor of the proposal at Monday’s school board meeting. “I would like to voice our support of this ordinance,” Mary Birks said. The Mt. Lebanon High School Gay/Straight Alliance said the ordinance is the next logical step in promoting equal rights.”
If your comment is based in fact 10:00 pm, why isn’t School Board President Birks publicly calling out Superintendent Steinhauer?
Regarding your update on the tailgate party.
ReplyDeleteI hope the design and printing of the advertisement didn’t come out of the fundraiser money!
If the alumni want to hold their parties then the alumni should foot their own bills.
No taxpayer money, no district employee time and certainly no contracted printing.
That way no “hard choices” will have to be made when it comes time to pay for our kids education.
Why is SB president spending board meeting time getting involved in municipal affairs?
ReplyDeleteHow about seeing to it Mary that taxpayers get honest, accurate and transparent financial information on district matters.
That’s your first responsibility.
Ha, and liberals can't figure out why Trump won. Promoting equal rights? You mean extra rights. Gay people already have the same rights as everyone else. As usual, the Commission is overstepping and focusing on the wrong things. Wait, wait--is this the "unity" crap again? Yeah, unity...unless you're Republican. Or straight. Or don't wholly support turf. What a load of bullshit.
ReplyDeleteAs for spending on the reunion, if money came from the Capital Campaign, that is a crime. Period.
Is anyone else perplexed or maybe alarmed about some things being discussed or making the news here in Lebo?
ReplyDelete10:00 pm writes in a comment that 40 students in the JMS class are gay and being excluded from a class trip.
Are all the rest of the district’s classes comprised of a similar percentage of gay students?
That sure seems beyond the norm in the general population.
Are they being discriminate against?
Then on another front we have Outreach’s Executive Director suggesting that for some reason our little darlings could use counseling to cope with the first day of school.
I dunno, growing up I was taught to look forward to the first day of a new school year, reuniting with fellow classmates, sharing summer experiences, meeting new kids and learning new subjects. The new school year was always wonderous!
Perhaps we have bigger problems here than buying alumni tailgate parties, installing artificial turf (maybe the crumb rubber is polluting our drinking water 😳), killing deer, finding uptown parking spaces, turfing fields, bricking streets and giving a super Super bigger bonuses.
Yep, we’ve got big problems right here in the bubble.
ReplyDeleteOur kiddies can’t possibly play sports without the finest in artificially turfed fields, adult supervised scheduling and guaranteed snacks and counseling because school may be hard. Now one must declare their sexual orientation before they reach puberty. Here’s a tip eighth grade students, don’t want to be excluded (yeah right that’s really happening) keep your sexual orientation to yourself. Really are there kids running around the eight grade proclaiming I’m a hetrosexual and I like it!
On the adult side we have some that the proximity of a deer makes them hyperventilate, shelter in their homes and crash their vehicles into phone poles.
What a world!
Correction @ 10:03
ReplyDeleteReally are there kids running around the eight grade proclaiming I’m a gay, bi or heterosexual and I like it!
I'm sure Cappucci, Caste & Birks will be there all smiles trying to get other alumni votes. If you want to continue to get free barbeques with taxpayers money, we're your meal ticket.
ReplyDeleteCCRB the "meal ticket"!
With regard to 10:00 PM's comment, I read that as a typo (either "say 40 students" or "maybe 40 students"). I can't imagine it any other way actually.
ReplyDelete40 students will be left behind from the 8th grade at JMS. Not gay-- it was to a typo! The students were warned that the field trip will not include 40 students bc they don't have room for them. The teachers choose who to leave behind based on the quality of their essays (supposedly). Tell me again, superintendent, how this is a compassionate, inclusive district that offers the best education for each and every student?
ReplyDeleteOK, although “gay” being inserted was an odd typo out of nowhere, we’ll move onto the bigger issue then.
ReplyDeleteThe district proclaims “To Provide the Best Education Possible for Each and Every Student” so how does the district get away with excluding even one student from an 8th trip. Seems like this is setting up students to be singled out by their peers.
The district can afford to finance BBQ tailgate parties and pay consultants travel time but they somehow find the cash to take every kid to Washington!
Birks, Cappucci, Lebowitz and the rest of the Board should be calling Steinhauer, Klein and the rest of the staff on the carpet and demanding why it is happening!
Correction @ 11:47
ReplyDeleteThe district can afford to finance BBQ tailgate parties and pay consultants travel time but they somehow CAN’T find the cash to take every JMS 8th grade kid to Washington!
Addition... bet every alumni’s kid, even though they maybe a dumb as a rock, is included on the 8th grade field trip.
Can, can't, does, doesn't, is, isn't, gay, not gay. Please be more mindful of your comments before submitting them. It is getting very difficult to follow along. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Y'all realize that if someone donates money to the capital campaign and specifically donates the money for the purpose of alumni events (say a tailgate, reunions, etc) then the money must be used for that purpose
ReplyDeleteY'all realize that if you were transparent and published an itemized list of donations along with the designated purpose, we wouldn't be having these conversations. And money donated from MLFE or the Alumni Association doesn't count. It is just another inner fund transfer.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Isn't the Capital Campaign a private non-profit, though?
ReplyDeleteNO!
ReplyDeleteElaine
So 5:34, remind us again... what was the Century of Excellence fundraiser created for?
ReplyDeleteBetter tailgate parties or enhancing the educational experience for upcoming generations of MTL kids?
Someone needs to get their priorities straight!
Created for eliminating the democratic process to approve use of nearly 1 million for "toys" that were supposed to be part of the renovation. The same cast of characters ached for pianos, trophy cases, weight rooms, press boxes and more turf fields. Roll that into the Century of Excellence campaign by using general funds and go buy it without board or community approval.
ReplyDelete6:06, you need to get a little more involved. In the PG article on the fund raiser it reports: “The campaign is audited annually as one of the district’s accounts, and the initial transfer is to be paid back eventually by the campaign. The first installment of $12,500 from the campaign to the general fund was approved last month.”
ReplyDeleteIf the fund raiser is private then it shouldn’t be audited annually as one of the district’s accounts.”
Plus, it’s going to take a long, long time to pay back that initial $923,000 “loan” if after 4 years the first installment of $12,500 has only been made!
Wonder if Jan Klein will give me the same deal as she gave the fundraiser? She doesn’t even need to loan me an initial investment on my MTL home.
ReplyDeleteJust let me make small installment payments on my taxes every so often just to make everything look like it’s on the up and up.
5:34 you wrote: “Y'all realize that if someone donates money to the capital campaign and specifically donates the money for the purpose of alumni events (say a tailgate, reunions, etc) then the money must be used for that purpose.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 30, 2017 at 5:34 PM”
The district advertises:
“The Century of Excellence Campaign is a forward-thinking initiative to help our school district, through philanthropy, continue to meet the high standards of educational excellence that Mt. Lebanon is known for, our students require for future success, and the community expects.
Raising private money to support public education is a new reality of school funding. Through private support, we have additional resources to invest in academic, fine arts and athletic programming that would otherwise not be possible. The funding also provides exciting opportunities in technology and innovation to help better prepare our students for the future.”
I don’t see anything in the above that covers anything to do with alumni events or tailgate parties, do you!
If someone want to donate to those they should give to the alumni association, the the Century of Excellence campaign.