I find it ironic that this PTA President was bringing up ethics violations in Real Lebo's (Elaine Cappucci's neighbors) Big Brother At The School Board? Read the comments, especially this one:
Mary Birks February 1, 2010 at 5:53 PM
Just to let those reading this string that I would never forward or share with anyone, correspondence from a resident sent to me as a school board director.
Whether or not I agree with that individual's opinion, the message is their intellectual property.
I am committed to looking at policy BCA, The Board Code of Ethics, as well as policy BBAA, Board Member Authority and Responsibilties, and will be making suggestions for more specificity in those polices. We owe it to our constituents to be transparent and hold one another accountable.
Thank you for your continued efforts to keep the conversation civil.
8 comments:
Mary is an intellectual lightweight. Really, the school board has a history of that over the last 10 years. Yes, every now and then you get someone with the capacity to ask questions and think critically, like James Fraasch and Mark Hart. Their efforts resulted in what has become almost de rigeur with the SB--circling the wagons, attacking those with a differing viewpoint and launching vile and shameful personal attacks. Look at Goldman. Fraasch. Bongiorno. Cannon. Gillen. All people who had the--GASP!--audacity to question, merely QUESTION, the motives or direction of the Board. At no point in the last decade has the Board made an attempt to include the public at-large, intelligently and factually defend their actions, or been as open and transparent as they should be given the cost of admission to life in the bubble.
90 percent of the problems on the SB are self-inflicted. Perfect example is Elaine's latest request regarding receipts.
"Mary, I noticed these figures. Can I see the receipts?"
"Those show the services were paid for."
"Uh-huh, got it. But can I see what the figures mean?"
"If you want a public document, file a RTK."
So she acknowledges it is a public document but mandates that a taxpayer has to file a formal request to see it. Brilliant. Mary, have you ever taken a class on civics?
And we have all been subjected to the "it's for legal protection" nonsense. The SB legal counsel might want to blow the dust off a few of their law school books. In this case, providing an accounting of how public money is spent creates exactly zero liability for the Board. None.
Second, and at the root is, how did the Board get itself into a position where A-there are unexplained expenses, B-those that have an explanation attached are questionable, and C-when someone requests a PUBLIC document, the Board immediately goes into defensive mode?
Lebo deserves better. To put it crassly, with the amount of money flowing through the town, residents deserve a top-notch school board full of professionals working in the best interests of the kids and long-term growth, not a couple of trashy halfwits who think this is their own little club. Anyone who reads this blog should be educating as many people as possible. If this election doesn't have a different result than the last few, there is no hope for the community.
10:32 you’re giving Mary too much credit.
This is the school board president that admits she voted on something that she don’t know what she was voting on. How stupid does one have to be to vote on something without studying it.
From the PG: ““She won’t vote on it in the future,” he said, including later this month when the next annual contract with the agency is expected to be considered by the board. “She wasn’t aware it was in those materials.”
Then there is this from a board meeting recently.
Directors are asked to approve or reject a motion that includes several items. The motion was seconded and opened for discussion by President Mary Birks. No one including Birks discussed any issues with any item in listed in the motion.
So the roll call vote proceeds, it’s either "aye" or "nay" according to the rules, not I'm OK with this item, not OK with that one and so forth.
Birks, rocket scientist that she is, votes aye with a an exception on one item!
If Birks had an issue with any item she should have voted "nay" or asked to have the item deleted before the vote. What a dummy.
In reading that MLFE letter from the fourth edition of the alumni directory that was signed by Lebowitz and David Birks it claims that the MLFE was founded in 1999.
It also states that by the end of the 2009-10 school year the foundation will have raised and awarded $170,000 in grants.
With those results whatever possessed the administration and board to think they could ever raise $30 million (eventually reduced to $6 million) in five years with the Century of Excellence Campaign?
Steinhauer ‘now’ admits the CEC may have overreached! Lebowitz is still convinced this money losing operation is a great deal!
Campaign Chair Posti and the rest of the school board wants to do a reset even while they continue to stonewall on taxpayers’ simple request for transparency.
This taxpayer is having a hard time believing that any of the candidates for director are up to the task.
There’s is some consolation that Riemer and Strotmeyer (and Beal) are finally asking questions and for a proper accounting of the campaign expenditures.
With Birks not studying the stuff she votes on and her oversight/lack of transparency on this train wreck of a fundraiser makes me wonder how anyone can vote for her or her team.
Thinking about sitting out the November election?
Don’t do it!
If just 5 more republicans had voted for Riemer in the primary, Mary would have been off the November ballot.
PG— “Controversy was swirling in Mt. Lebanon, where five school board seats were hotly contested, and one race was apparently won by just four votes. Four of the seats are for four-year terms, and one is for a two-year term.
The top winner among Democrats for a four-year seat was incumbent Michael Riemer, followed by newcomer Aviva Diamond, incumbent Stephen Strotmeyer and former board member Elaine Cappucci.
The GOP nods went to newcomer Kathleen Caste, followed by Ms. Cappucci, incumbent Daniel Remely and board president Mary Birks, who squeaked through with just four votes after absentee ballots were counted early Wednesday. Before those votes were counted, results showed Ms. Birks losing by eight votes to Mr. Riemer for the Republican nomination.
In the race for the two-year seat, Mr. Riemer secured the Democratic nomination, and Ms. Cappucci will be the Republican nominee.”
Must say I’m baffled by the R results though— Caste, Cappucci, Remely and bringing up the rear... Birks.
How any republican can think those four stand for the Republican Principles is beyond me.
The Mt. Lebanon R's continue to disappoint me. I wonder if Raja is thinking about running for Murphy's seat. Ha!
Elaine
Yes Elaine, the Rs continually disappoint.
They talk a good game, but that’s about it... just talk.
Guess that’s better than the Ds that don’t say much about anything, especially when one questions them.
Yes, Raja is among those eyeing Murphy's seat.
😱 Oh crap, he’s going to run again!
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