By Ethan Lott / The Business Times ranked schools based on scores just released by the state Department of Education.
Top 5 High Schools
At last night's school board meeting, the Draft Rock Pile Presentation was made with all the different options explained. Miraculously, the presentation was posted on the school district website last night. Of course, we're still waiting for Mary and Timmy to release the timeline promised last month. But when it comes to sports in this town, people move in warp speed. A suggestion was made for money to come from THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN, since it could benefit the community. People would WANT to give, for sure. Cheerleader Larry Lebowitz said that this is a "golden opportunity" and he is excited! By adding lights, we could certainly get even more use.
Still waiting for the day when education is discussed at a school board meeting, instead of construction. Tonight, the municipality held a public hearing on the CIP which includes $5.5 million for Muni Field Improvements in 2022.
So even though we can't compete scholastically with Upper St. Clair, we can have some awesome fields! The band is excited. The soccer coaches are excited. The track coaches are excited. Larry is excited. Several 2016-2017 Key Communicators are excited. Go Lebo!
Update October 11, 2017 7:39 AM Here is how Mt. Lebanon Magazine spins it.
Update October 11, 2017 7:39 AM Here is how Mt. Lebanon Magazine spins it.
20 comments:
Wait a minute, Klein is claiming that there is $5 million just laying around and available to turf fields!
Then why in the hell did they ever need to launch a fundraising campaign to fund weight rooms and Hall of Fame murals? Why didn’t they just do them themselves out of the $5 million. No they had to give pals lucrative jobs and donors tax deductions, while leaving Lincoln parents clamoring for smaller class sizes and special needs kids wanting.
Disgusting.
Dear Santa,
I know it's early but I wanted to get ahead of the curve.
Not to sound ungrateful or bitter (because really, I'm not) but sometimes I see people who should be on the naughty list basically getting everything they want. People like Larry and Timmy and Mary. I mean, I know you're all about the spirit of giving. but those people and their friends get EVERYTHING. Do they deserve it? I see them all the time and they're really mean. They lie and cheat, they call people names, they hide stuff that doesn't belong to them (like money). They ask for more and more, and even when they break the rules, they get their wish.
Here are my wishes. Every year since, well, forever, you've given me at least one thing on my list. I'm not greedy. This year, I would like (please!):
1. An independent audit of the school board
2. A criminal investigation into the school board's actions
3. A new bunch of school board directors
5. Coverage by journalists who arent afraid of the truth
6. Charges brought against some school board directors, past and present, for circumventing state law
7. Lots and lots of orange jumpsuits
8. A PS4
Thanks, Santa. And Merry early Christmas.
9:40 pm. I'm not Santa so maybe I shouldn't ask by who is going to do a criminal investigation into the schools? Does anyone really investigate crimes in Western PA?
Jaded Mary E
Mary E.
“Pennsylvania school districts stockpile billions in cash”
“PITTSBURGH - Action News Investigates has learned Pennsylvania school districts are sitting on more than $4 billion in cash.
Some districts are raising taxes even while holding onto millions in cash.”
“Pennsylvania school districts have piled up $4.4 billion in reserves. That's enough to pay off the state budget deficit -- twice.
While the auditor general said schools should not have a surplus greater than 20 percent of expenses, some districts in Allegheny County, in addition to South Fayette, exceeded that amount.”
http://www.wtae.com/article/pennsylvania-school-districts-stockpile-billions-in-cash/10285649
So Mary E., while the Governor and democratic legislators whine that they must raise state taxes on utilities, phones and cable, liquor, etc., etc., so they can balance their budget and send school districts millions to cover their pension and healthcare costs, the district’s are sitting on billions of dollars.
These same district’s - like ours - while crying poor-mouth are then turning around and buying turf, buying murals, and paying fund raising managers ludicrous salaries and benefits they’d never achieve in the private sector.
Sorry to say it, but we voters are stupid or lazy or both. 70% of us can’t even bother to look at the facts and then get out to vote accordingly.
Think the Auditor General is going to audit MTLSD, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!
Keep on relying on lawn signs Lebo to pick your representatives and officials.
am I wrong in saying that the school did not pay for the hall of champions?
Yes, 8:32!
Do you not understand the Campaign is underwater financially. Without the district’s loan/investment it doesn’t have any money so it couldn’t build the Hall of Champions.
So while a donor may have directed their contribution to the Hall the Fundraiser is still in the red and has debts to pay.
Therefore the district in effect is paying for and will be maintaining the Hall unless the donor set up a trust for its upkeep.
9:40 pm, you will find no bigger critic of Birks, Cappucci and Lebowitz than me, but even I don't believe that they are criminals. They have made shady deals and undoubtedly violated ethics laws. They should lose their seats for that and be properly ridiculed (including Cappucci's unqualified son) at every opportunity. That said, we need better people to run for office, so let's not scare them off by constructing gallows in front of the high school, ok?
"even I don't believe they are criminals"..."undoubtedly violated ethics laws".
Uh. Yeah.
Hey MTL magazine while you’re so busy cheerleading that the district is #4 did you miss the following important news... “In Allegheny County, 35 of the 43 school districts requested and were approved for an exception in the past 10 years. The Mt. Lebanon School District was approved for $17 million in exceptions, the most of any school district in the county. It was followed by the North Allegheny and Pine-Richland school districts. All three are among the state’s 40 wealthiest school districts.
However, those districts also demonstrate the differences between how often the exceptions are actually used.
Even though Pine-Richland was approved to raise property taxes above inflation six times in nine years, it increased its property tax rate three times. Mt. Lebanon increased property taxes at least six times and requested a hike above inflation every year.”
State funding can’t keep up”
Read this document for newly elected school board directors from the PSBA, 9:38.
https://www.psba.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Essentials-for-School-Board-Service-2016.pdf
Page 24) “6:10. What does the concept “conflict of interest” mean and why should school directors try to avoid such conflicts?The term “conflict of interest” in the broader context of school board service refers to any potential clash between the public interest and the private financial interest of an individual director. Both the School Code and the Public Official and Employees Ethics Act prohibit various categories of conflicts of interest that school directors and other public officials must take great care to avoid. A public official must not vote on or otherwise attempt to influence decisions on matters that could result in private financial gain for themselves, their families, or businesses with which they or their families are associated. Violations can result in civil penalties, criminal prosecution and being banned from holding public office or public employment. The Ethics Act also requires school directors to file annual statements of financial interest. The free online Conflicts of Interest course available in PSBA’s LEARN Portal will teach you about the restrictions and requirements you must understand and be able to navigate.”
“Violations can result in civil penalties, criminal prosecution and being banned from holding public office or public employment.”
If Cappucci gets elected the minute see expresses and opinion or tries to influence the board on anything to do with teacher compensation, scheduling, class sizes, sports schedules, benefits or healthcare she will be in immediate violation of state ethics laws.
She and the board know this rule since their first day as a director and their associations with the PSBA and should be prosecuted if they defy them.
Birks violated the ethics code by voting on sending money to an entity from which she personally profits.
Ignorance that she didn’t know what she was voting on is a pretty pathetic excuse.
Cappucci will be violating ethics laws if she even tries to influence anything that might affect her son’s employment.
I wonder what kind of conversations President Birks is having with other directors and administrators regarding Outreach?
The comment you moved was in response to 9:38’s comment here that even I don’t believe they are criminals.”
Sorry, but according to the state ethics laws if one breaks them they are.
I would assume altering/revising financial documents that were presented to the board and accepted approved in the board minutes would be a crime too.
So I guess, according to Lebowitz all the district’s efforts to reduce the district’s electric bills and carbon footprint are now out the window!
Got that students, turn on the lights, don’t worry about polluting the water and your bodies tire rubber dust and moving up from #4 to #1 in the state exams. You’ll be able to play a sport 24/7 now that they’ll be improving the Rock Pile.
Screw future generations health for the next 100 years 😱.
While the board figures out how to spend that $5 million on turf, I hope they are considering this from eSchool News.
“Technology leaders at the K-12 and higher ed levels said they expect more digital learning tools in their schools and on their campuses, but they also expressed concerns over having enough manpower to handle increased technology demands.
The information comes from a new report, the Education Operations Health Index, based on two decades of SchoolDude data and survey results, and it offers a glimpse at the state of technology, school facilities and operations nationwide. The report covers technology management, preventive maintenance, deferred maintenance, community use of facilities and energy conservation.
Positives in the index include an increase in schools moving to digital curriculum, schools more capable of supporting an array of devices, and IT departments being set up well to handle cybersecurity concerns.
Negatives include budget constraints, which ranked as a top challenge, and not having enough time or staff to address challenges.”
https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/10/11/it-leaders-digital-materials/
Did anyone notice during the Draft Presentation on turfing the Rock Pile Strotmeyer or perhaps Beal asked who the consultant was that came up with the estimated costs for each version.
It was obvious that they didn’t want to divulge a name! Why would that be a secret?
Interesting article in the Post Gazette for Lebowitz and the artificial turf proponents.
https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/down-the-stream/
“If we continue business as usual, which really we would expect the carbon dioxide emissions around the globe to go up, it would get noticeably warmer decade by decade,” says atmospheric chemist Neil Donahue, director of CMU’s Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research. “It really is warmer than it used to be – progressively, systematically warmer.”
“Stronger heat waves would amplify the risk of heat-related illness and death for vulnerable populations like children, people with disabilities and the elderly. Pittsburgh recorded about 25 heat-related deaths per year from 1975 to 1995, but that number could jump to 45 per year from 2045 to 2055.”
Here what they saying Mr. Lebowitz? It’s going to get progressively warmer around here. Meaning that artificially turfed fields will get unbearably hot more often.
On top of that grass like all plant life, absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. So we’d be wise to encourage plant life.
The report goes on Mr. Lebowitz, “Higher temperatures and more heat waves would test the city’s infrastructure and increase consumer utility bills, too, with greater demands on the electrical grid.”
By all means let’s buy some more electricity hogging stadiums lights to throw another log on the fire!
Hey Environmental Sustainability Board, where are you?
Somebody please explain!!!!!
If we are in such dire need of sports field availability at both the school district and the municipality why are our crown jewel fields available to outsiders and for casual use?
One would think these fields would be occupied and in use constantly by the school teams and MTL sports organizations.
Hmmm, does someone see turfed fields as a money making proposition? At $175 rental to cover the expense of creating a $900,000
turf field the municipality/school district would need to rent out to over 5,142 events just to cover the initial installation.
And if my math is correct that works out to 14 sporting events a day in a year.
Oh I forgot to insert this notice from the municipality with my 2:09 comment.
“Middle Field & Clint Seymour Field (formerly Wildcat Field) Improvements
Fields Opened July 16, 2015!
Mt. Lebanon renovated Clint Seymour and Middle Fields at the recreational complex on Cedar Boulevard. The project, which was estimated to cost $1 million included over $250,000 in private donations. The upgrades included the installation of drainage and a fully synthetic turf surface on both fields. The fields opened in July of 2015, and are available for rent and casual use.”
Available for rent and casual use, why are we being told we don’t have enough decent fields for our kids.
I can comment on the availability of adequate fields within the district. I manage one of the sports programs that spans both the middle school, high school and hopefully soon the elementary schools. At certain times of the year, there is space available for the casual user to rent the fields; this is typically summer when schools are closed. Recently I needed to rent field space for our summer programs and in April there was already limited availability for the turf fields. They are definitely very well used by the multitude of club sports programs. Once we reach mid-August, grass fields and turf are close to impossible to rent and my teams play on elementary school grounds on fields that do not meet regulation size for our sport, thus the surrounding school programs do not want to play" away games" with our teams. With limited availability, we all know which sports obtain the most turf time and at the best hours. It is easy to drive by the fields to see which sports are playing after dark between 8:00 and 11:00 pm.
Having said all of this, education should be the priority within Mount Lebanon. Resources should be used to further the learning skills, knowledge and development of our children over "trophy halls" and superfluous activities. We tend to rest on our laurels for having "great schools". Are they good? Yes. Great? Not really. What are our schools doing above and beyond the norm, and how are our teachers incentivized to push the boundaries beyond the status quo to improve our learning environment, methodologies and curriculum? My fear is they are often pressured not to.
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