It is infectious.

From the School District website:

School Board Meeting Presentation The presentation Dr. Allen and Dr. Ron Davis gave on student achievement at the Oct. 10 School Board meeting is now available online.

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Architect Update: Oct. 10 At the Architect Update on Oct. 10, Tom Celli from Celli-Flynn Brennan presented an update on the exterior elevations of the high school and an updated bid schedule. PJ Dick presented an updated phasing schedule.
CFB presentation
PJ Dick Preliminary Phasing Schedule

Page 10 of the Architect Presentation:

Tentativ Date

It is amazing what is put out by the District and its Board members.

They can't spell, nor have they learned how to use a spell-checker.

They don't cite their sources of information.

And now their architect is infected by them.  We have no hope!

By the way, they are going to bid on a high school that has materials that will wear out in days instead of years.  All that money Dan Remely said we would save on utilities will be used to fix the cheap stuff that breaks just after the 90 day warranty expires.

Architect Update October 10

According to the school district website, there will be an Architect Update on Oct. 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library. Wouldn't it have been nice to get a response from a board member acknowledging receipt of our questions and a note saying that they will pass on our questions to the architect at Monday's meeting?  Am I really asking too much?

This is the text from Apple's first commercial.  It is also on Josephine Posti's latest blog post over at Center Court.

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." - Apple Inc.

“About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.”  School Board, please think about that statement.

Correction: Apple's first Mac commercial aired in 1984.  "Think Different" was part of an advertising campaign created for Apple in 1997.

On Monday's Agenda...

The agenda for Monday's School Board Discussion meeting lists, "Approval of Annual Salary for Superintendent" as an action item for the August 15, 2011 Business meeting.  Nothing else is mentioned. I seem to remember a figure attached to that annual action item. While we are all wondering what that number might be, here were Dr. Steinhauer's 2010-2011 Goals.

Superintendent Goals for 2010-2011

1. Fiscal Management - The Superintendent will operate the District in a fiscally responsible manner, identifying cost savings and revenue generating opportunities.

2. High School Project – The Superintendent will continue the District’s efforts to build/renovate the High School.

3. Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) – The Superintendent will implement the terms of the new teacher CBA.

4. Strategic Plan – The Superintendent will guide the District in making progress toward meeting or exceeding all goals established by the current Strategic Plan. In addition, the Superintendent will position the District to begin development of a new strategic plan during the 2011-2012 school year. 

5. Student Achievement – The Superintendent will implement measures to improve student achievement.

6. Technology – The Superintendent will direct an assessment of the District’s technological capabilities.

Also scheduled at 7:00 p.m. is an Architect's Update. An update will be given on possible cost reductions along with next steps in the re-bidding process. Architects Update Scheduled for Monday

Bike Racks

The following letter was written by reader, Richard Gideon and is reprinted with his permission.

27 June 2011

 

Board Members:

 

I listened to the Architect's Update of 20 June 2011 (courtesy of Elaine Gillen's “Lebo Citizens” web site) and was taken aback by the discussion concerning the role of bike racks at the proposed new high school edifice. For the record, my wife and I are avid cyclists. Cycling is great exercise and an excellent way to get around – under the proper circumstances. I understand that bike racks are a component of LEED Certification.  However, the requirements of LEED Certification aside, encouraging high school students, who are by definition (with a few exceptions) minors, to ride bicycles to the high school - during rush hour – on major traffic routes with no bike lanes – on hills with steep grades – mixing in with arriving and departing school traffic - is ill advised at best.

 

Dr. Steinhauer may cycle to school as he pleases because he is an adult, knows the risks, and accepts them. That he does so is classic individualism and I applaud it. But in tacitly agreeing with Mr. Lebowitz that other people's children should be encouraged to take the same kind of risk he is asking for a gigantic lawsuit should, God forbid, a kid be killed whilst cycling to school. 

 

Mr. Remely's observations on the subject are correct; and if I may be permitted to add, as a youngster moves through adolescence the thrill of a bicycle gives way very quickly to the anticipation of a driver's license, making the point of bike racks somewhat moot.

 

Sincerely,

 

Richard Gideon

What's the same and what has changed?

Mt. Lebanon School District has prepared a High School Project Update and was presented at the Architect's Update by Dr. Steinhauer.  This 22 page update includes changes made to Buildings B, G, and the Athletic Building.  Next steps include reviewing potential changes with the Municipality.  Does this mean the Zoning Hearing Board and Planning Board again? And what about the Shared Parking Agreement?  I hope these reviews come before January, if the biggest proponent of the high school project gets elected in Ward 3. http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09041/948123-100.stm

Architect's Update

Just a quick post to say that last night's Architect Update was 2.5 hours long.  The podcast is on Lebo Citizens and the first run is airing on TV as I type.

Six items were presented by Tom Celli where he is asking for direction so that they can proceed and have construction documents for September 2.  Board members are asked to decide by June 17.  A few SB members felt as though they are being rushed to make major decisions.

Briefly, the six points presented by Tom Celli include:
1. Approval of new layouts of G Building and the lower level of the Athletic Building
2. Agree to final list of alternates
3. Size and weight of elevator and loading dock
4. Multiple vs. Single Prime Contractors
5. Major mechanical systems used
6. Security system (number of cameras - yet, they don't know how many floors will be in the final plan. )

One board member feels that to reduce costs, items are being categorized as soft costs.  This does not reduce the cost of the project.  They are just being shifted from one column to the other.  She wants to know what the REAL costs will be.

Changes include removing 33,000 square feet from the project.  Also 197 options were presented to remove from the project and could reduce the project by $14 million.

Progress with the bid review process

The Mt. Lebanon School District's home page reports that there "will be an Architect Update on Monday, June 13, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library prior to the School Board meeting. The architects from Celli-Flynn Brennan and the construction managers from P.J. Dick Corp. will report to the School Board on their progress with the bid review process."   Again, I am asking for a volunteer to record the meeting. Presently, 37 countries have visited Lebo Citizens. There is definitely a need for these meetings to be available online, instead of just the cable channels. I have reached out to School Board candidates with no luck, and now I am asking the Key Communicators for help.  Unfortunately, my list of Key Communicators is over a year old (not well communicated), so maybe one of these people would volunteer.

Al Frioni

Andy Rhodes

Betsy Dillon

Bill Cooper

Blaise Larotonda

Corey Polena

Dan Goff

Dave Reese

Deb Smit

Diane Wainwright

Elaine LaBalme

Elizabeth Glantz

Frank Baker

Frank Hines

Gail Sieg

Hugh Beal

Joe Polk

John Schrott

Kim Ressler

Kristen Linfante

Larry Lebowitz

Mary Ellen Schmidt

Rob Gardner

Rob Papke

Ruth Foltz

Sheldon Campbell

Sue Fretterd

Sue Simmons

Tom Moertel

If you are willing to help, please contact me at EGillen476@aol.com, and I will make arrangements to get a recorder to and from you.  Thanks in advance!

Update 9:54 am It occurred to me that there may be some readers who are not aware of the Key Communicator group.  Through a Google search, I found this explanation on the Plano Independent School District website. http://www.pisd.edu/about.us/key.communicators/index.shtml I also found references to Dr. Steinhauer's group at a local level. http://voteccl.com/about_bill , http://jposti.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-board-member-appointed.html and http://votelinfante.com/content/candidate-profile-kristen-linfante.