Capital Campaign Financial Records
Campaign Cabinet
Josephine Posti
Campaign Co-Chair
Campaign Co-Chair
Dale Cable
Dione Cahillane
Elaine Cappucci*
Katie Caste*
Beth Evans
Larry Lebowitz
Robert Mallery
Preston McMurry, Jr.
Lisa Sullivan
Dione Cahillane
Elaine Cappucci*
Katie Caste*
Beth Evans
Larry Lebowitz
Robert Mallery
Preston McMurry, Jr.
Lisa Sullivan
District Representatives
Timothy Steinhauer Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent of Schools
Sloane Astorino
Director of Advancement
Director of Advancement
Cissy Bowman
Director of Communications
*Running for school board under the Timmy Ticket.
Director of Communications
34 comments:
I opened this post up to comments - only this thread, please.
Elaine
So, for the numerically challenged amongst us...
Actual money in is 612k, total money out is 756.
Total revenue is counted as 923k but there is 277k in "pledges" not yet collected.
There is a school district loan outstanding for 923k.
Despite all that, there is 418k in the bank account.
Can someone with a fiscal mind summarize?
3:00 PM. Not a fiscal mind, but it appears that Posti, Cappucci, et al. could have done all of us a great favor and simply lit $100,000 on fire or given it to Dr. Steinhauer as a "bonus" (equivalent to lighting money on fire) or severance (much better) rather than pursue this vanity project.
The truth is, and I knew this and said this when I learned of this Campaign many years ago, it is near impossible to raise great sums of money for a school district that is perceived as "privileged." And privileged is the image the SD *wants* out in the public.
But you can't have it both ways: Either you are the best and have the best and are good to go, or you are struggling based on a multitude of factors and need some assistance, so please give.
- Dr. J
$277,400 has not been pledged. Total revenue collected $621,473.37. Total expenditures $1,023,813.59. Not fiscally minded. To me, the fundraiser has lost almost a half a million dollars !
3:44 PM, do you mean that $277,400 has been pledged, but not donated? Pledges don't count. Someone can pledge a million dollars, but it doesn't count until it is donated.
Elaine
I received this in my email:
I can't believe what I'm reading!! In four fiscal years the District managed to bring in $621,473.37, but it cost them $756,791.06 to do it! That's a loss of $135,022.53. Add in the "disbursements" of $267,022.53 and the total loss is $402,340.22. So how was all this covered? - by a "Loan from General Fund" of $923,530.02! No wonder they only have $418,165.23 in the Capital Campaign bank account! They wouldn't even have that if it weren't for the "loan."
Elaine
Keep in mind that the Timmy Ticket consists of someone who is under investigation with the State Ethics Commission, two members of the capital campaign committee, and a guy who promised to bring in the high school project under $95 million.
Who's (not what"s) in your wallet?
Elaine
Sloane Astorino---Related to the architectural firm in Pittsburgh?
http://www.thealmanac.net/article/20151012/NEWS/151019993
The board (or the contractor) lied about the estimated cost of the new school. A committee is formed to raise money for the "unforeseen" overruns. In order to raise money for the things they had to keep out of the contract, the committee hired a fundraising firm. The district loaned the committee almost a million bucks so the committee could fall half a million short, yet the contract wasn't technically violated, the school was built, the district doesn't care if they get their money back and even if they do, it's only the original loan amount. The committee slowly fades away, they close up shop, shift the 400k in the bank back to the district, the district what writes off the rest as capital expenditure?
This entire saga was sleazy from the beginning. Dirty. And here are the numbers to show it. I do hope someone at the FBI has a chance to look into this as it would be really interesting to see if any of the money has made its way down unrelated avenues. People have gone to prison for much, much less.
NONE OF THIS MONEY WAS SPENT ON OUR CHILDREN !
The committee, 6:58 PM, is not fading away. They are either former school board directors, current school board directors, or school board candidates. They never seem to go away.
Elaine
7:14, that is the essential point isn't it, that the money was to go to the kids education. Instead a bunch of individuals made tidy little profits for themselves and the Super that was to lead all this got bonuses for exceeding expectations.
The expectation for this Campaign was to bring in $6 million over five years. Not only have they missed the original goal they lost money in the effort. How many teachers (regular and special ed) could they have hired with the lost money? How much could they have put into PSERS to reduce its red ink?
Remember too, these know-it-all directors actually had visions of raising $30 million, then $15 million and finally $6 million when they first started talking to Pursuant Ketchum.
But what is really sad in all this- is that voters will once again vote for Cappucci, Remely, and Birks now and Lebowitz later to oversee the financial operations of the school district. If they have can get off their duffs to vote at all.
By all means let's make one of the overseers of the Capital Campaign Executive Director of Outreach because she did such a good job watch the campaign's money flow.
This is outrageous. Please get this out to the media asap.
Yes, 9:45 PM, please get this out to the media ASAP. I can do just so much. It IS outrageous!
And Folks, vote for Diamond, Riemer, and Strotmeyer too.
Elaine
I hope the hundreds of donors who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars of their hard earned money understand that EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR they contributed went to administrative costs. NOT ONE DOLLAR went to better educate Mt. Lebanon students. And it was allowed to go on for years by the capital campaign cabinet and the District Administration.
Isn't that a form of fraud?
If Lebo Citizens Readers do a blog search for "Capital Campaign," here are the results.
Additionally, the current capital campaign brochure was revised in February, when school board candidate Katie Caste had been listed as treasurer of the campaign.
Please note that according to former/future school board director Elaine Cappucci, Timmy held the key role in the fundraising campaign AND GOT AN INCREASE for doing it! No answers, but a nice pay increase
It has taken me years to expose this corruption, but it is finally coming to light. Finally.
Elaine
To 3:44. They didn't lose almost a half million dollars anywhere. You can see exactly where the money went.
First, into the pockets of four people in salary and benefits totaling over $425,000.
What I can't understand is why Lebowitz, Cappucci, Birks, Remely and especially our Superintendent. sat up at school board meeting and claimed that this fundraiser was a great success.
One should be wondering if they hid this fiasco for years what else are they hiding.
From that revised campaign brochure:
"The Century of Excellence Campaign will help give our school leaders additional resources to invest in academic programming. And also help secure our ongoing commitment to the fine and performing arts programs, athletics, and student life."
When it comes time to vote for school directors in November remember—
I'm... Cappucci... Birks... Remely... Caste... and we approved that message (while frittering away half a million dollars).
I hope people remember Elaine's post for which she apparently got some nasty comments.
"Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Controversial vote at school board meeting UPDATED
From the School Board Meeting Agenda for August 21, 2017:
Capital Campaign Disbursement: RESOLVED, That the Board approves a Budget for Capital Campaign initiatives in the amount of $26,750, and the reimbursement of operating costs of $12,600.
Hugh Beal abstained from voting until he could get more information about the Capital Campaign. Larry Lebowitz abstained because he donated to the campaign. I thought I had to adjust my TV because Mary Birks turned bright red when Sarah Olbrich, Mike Riemer, and Stephen Strotmeyer voted no. The vote was four in favor (Birks, Cooper, Moorhead, Remely), three against (Olbrich, Riemer, Strotmeyer) and two abstaining (Beal, Lebowitz). Since it was a sizable dollar amount, Solicitor Tom Peterson will be giving his opinion in next week's school board packets. He said that it had to be a five vote majority, but with two abstaining, he believed that it would still pass, but he wasn't sure since this never came up before."
C'mon parents/taxpayers wake up! You Lincoln parents wanting smaller class sizes, they had the money for another teacher. You parents that want more help for special needs students, they had the money for it. There was no need to go begging with a tin cup if they could float the campaign committee a $900,000 loan.
Hey, a big round of applause to Cissy Bowman, Campaign Director of Communications for communicating all this to us!
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha
Posti is the campaign's co-chair, how come the other one isn't listed.
Plus, eleven people involved in this campaign and not one of them stepped to alert us as to what was going on!
That speaks volumes.
Read these gofundme success stories raising money for a fraction of what the school directors Capital Campaign cost!
https://www.gofundme.com/school-fundraising
What's even funnier is that not one of them required a beerfest.
2:23 PM, I seem to remember that Carol Walton was the other co-chair.
Elaine
Is Katie a product of poor math education? Her campaign claims are not matching the documents!
http://www.partnersstudentsuccess.com/about_us/katie
While reading Katie's campaign claims...
http://www.partnersstudentsuccess.com/about_us/elaine
Elaine neglected to mention that she was forced to resign from the School Board as a School Board Director. Ooops !
The District should make every effort to contact donors and return their contributions. These poor people surely did not want their donations spent in this manner. It appears that 100% of the gifts were consumed by administrative overhead.
Open the website http://www.partnersstudentsuccess.com, (The Timmy Team) look at the very bottom where it states, “Paid for by Committee for Outstanding Mt. Lebanon Schools” and do a Google search on Committee for Outstanding Mt. Lebanon Schools. It takes you to Grella’s website at https://craiggrella.com/portfolio/school-board-candidates-slate-website/committee-for-outstanding-mt-lebanon-schools/
9:21 That's the 2015 ticket. The current ticket is running under "Partners for Student Success" which is funny given that they were instrumental in making sure that at least $900,000 from our taxes was not spent on the students.
Isn't it about time SB President Birks declares that she voted for money to go towards the Capital Campaign because she didn't see its financial records?
8:31 AM, I'm confused. I am seeing the same thing that 9:21 PM states. Is the current ticket using money from the old ticket?
Elaine
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