This School Board just amazes me! Not only did they hire a new business director, come clean on the Century of Excellence Capital Campaign fiasco, have a new teachers' contract, Timmy's 2018-2019 goals were established at the beginning of this school year! His 2017-2018 goals were not published until after Mike Riemer became president in January 2018!
For the first time, the Superintendent Goals (saved in Google Docs) actually pertain to learning and not construction. WOW! Who would have thought?
Has there been any word yet on exactly how or from where the balance ($700,000) of the “loan” from the district to the Century of Excellence will be paid back back yet?
ReplyDeleteNot that I am aware of. The Capital Campaign financials are no longer available on the district's website. The new link to donations is here. https://www.mtlsd.org/page.cfm?p=1627
ReplyDeleteElaine
"the $700K of costs that has already been spent will be recovered.", Jan Klein, 8/13 Discussion Meeting
ReplyDelete9:22, no one is disputing that Jan Klein stated that the $700,000 “ loan” will be recovered!
ReplyDeleteThe issue at hand is with the Century of Excellence fundraiser disbanded where will the monies for the recovery come from?
Campaign donor money can only be used as directed. There is insufficient pledge money to cover the $700,000.
Hopefully, the newly hired business manager will be able to fill in us taxpayers exactly from where and when we can expect the money to come from.
No money will be recovered. It was blown. Money that should have gone to pay teachers was frittered on incompetent administers who failed to raise a nickel net of expenses. The money is gone. Just watch.
ReplyDeleteOf course it won't be recovered. It went to alumni parties, incompetent administrators, and all the other waste that Nick Meduho uncovered through his research.
ReplyDeleteThis should not come as a surprise. We saw all the signs when the highly regarded director of business regularly changed the financials to the capital campaign. She sold her house on Craigview and moved out of Mt. Lebanon before the district raised the taxes TEN PERCENT. Now she is retiring, so we're supposed to believe her when she says the money will be recovered? But Nick and I were the bad guys because we could see through all the shenanigans.
We also saw that the superintendent, who continually lied to the community about the campaign, is in his final year of his contract where he got a 6% increase this year. Why no apologies or explanations? Now you know why I called him Timmy and showed no respect to the man. He also lied under oath during the zoning hearing.
Elaine
Yep, exactly right 8:30pm. Just remember they told us with a straight face that 100 years from now people would be thanking them for their initiative for starting the Century of Excellence Fund-hahaha-Campaign.
ReplyDeleteHope the taxpayers remember this loss come next board election.
As a longtime resident whose 4 recently graduated children express gratitude for having been educated in this school district, and having followed events and positions over the past 20 years, I am extremely thankful for our Superintendent. I was definitely a fan of John Allison, but have been completely satisfied with Dr. Steinhauer's dedication and vision. Based upon a brief foray as a PTA officer, I learned quickly how decisions can easily interpreted as having a hidden agenda, and a feeding frenzy based upon assumptions about motivations begins. It's unfortunate, and it's hurtful. Remember, a point of view is not necessarily a truth. That applies to my point of view as well. But it's something to consider. Calling someone Timmy in order to minimize or denigrate him does not lend support to concerns that may be valid. Labeling and dismissing halts communication.
ReplyDelete9:04 you are exactly correct calling someone names doesn’t help make a point of view valid.
ReplyDeleteI wonder though why so many people, some very influential or in high government or media positions, are so quick to label those on the other side as bigots, misogynist, drunkards, racist, Nazis and so forth.
Facts are what counts and for 6 years we were led to believe the Capital Campaign was a success. It wasn’t and the Super did little to shine a light.
Amen to that, 3:56 PM. Don't forget "deplorables," I'm just calling him by a variation of Timothy. Is that really so bad, 9:04 PM? I am willing to bet that he has been called Timmy before. Seriously. I find it interesting that you didn't give Mr. Allison a title. He never lied to us like Timmy did. FOR YEARS.
ReplyDeleteElaine
There’s something else to consider here.
ReplyDeleteThrough all the years, through numerous superintendents from Smartsschan, Sable, Wilson, Allison and Steinhauer to name a few, MTLSD has always been considered one of the best. Wonder why?
Could it be that the parents, community and especially the taxpayers demanded it be so and were willing to pay the freight. They even make generous extra contributions of money and time through Band Boosters, Blue Devil’s Clubs, PTA, etc., etc. It was given for the kids!
In the last decade though something has changed. Has the community lost its will to support the district any more that the school board and administration has to resort to conducting formal fundraisers?
Or is it that the district is spending more than the community can afford?
Opinions anyone?
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/07/16/school-districts-hoarding-cash-fund-balance/amp/
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I’m not the sharpest tack in the room when it comes to finances so perhaps someone can explain something to me.
According to charts in the above KDKA article MTLSD has a fund balance of $13,000,000. Which grew by nearly $3 million from year 2015-16 to 2016-17 alone.
All that money exist even though the district just completed a massively expensive high school project and air conditioning elementary schools.
Granted, it is wise to bankroll a rainy day fund, but really, how hard can a rainy day be for a district? They have an almost unlimited ability to raise taxes and certainly the state won’t sit idly by and let 5,300 go uneducated should a financial calamity occur.
So why was there such a pressing need for a $6 million Capital Campaign? The district pumped $900,000 into funding it with hardly a blink of the eye and no pressing concern how the remaining $700,000 “loan” will be repaid.
I am perplexed.
Is that because of the PlanCon reimbursement? Here are the numbers for MTL:
ReplyDeleteMt Lebanon SD Allegheny 9 $13,031,407.00 13.6% $2,899,925
Based on the percentage, they are under 20%. Still a lot of money sitting around!
Elaine
Yes a lot of money!
ReplyDelete“How much is too much? The financial industry recommends maintaining a minimum of 5 percent of an annual operating budget in an unrestricted reserve account. But what it often boils down to for school districts is what amount a school board feels comfortable holding.”
https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/pa-school-districts-sitting-on-billions-in-reserves/article_13710a1f-2091-5b52-bb18-0f87e8ffb7a8.html