"...we nearly have a tax revolt going here."

In The Almanac's Mt. Lebanon schools face $2.6 million shortfall in budget article, Elaine Cappucci said that they will have to raise millage again, or "decimate" its education system. 

Most board members hope to target somewhere between a 0.5 and 0.55 mill tax increase, and to use between $750,000 and $1 million of the fund balance. 

Dan Remely was alone in preferring a significantly smaller tax increase of .25 mills. He favors using $1.5 million of fund balance. 

“There comes a point where we have to figure out some way to protect taxpayers as well as our other stakeholders,” he said. “I am concerned we nearly have a tax revolt going here. Our schools draw people into Mt. Lebanon. These families are then being taxed even further, as we’re seeing in the papers.” 

Remely’s comment references a controversial practice whereby the municipality of Mt. Lebanon targeted recent home buyers for property reassessments at or very near their homes’ sale prices – a practice the affected families have dubbed the “Mt. Lebanon Newcomer’s Tax.” Some of these residents’ tax bills increased by thousands of dollars following their reassessments.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am getting pretty tired of this well-worn script. To use a Jan Kleinism, it is "typical for this time of year." We can speak of bonuses, trophy cases, and lucrative raises any other time of the year, but come February and March, they all start crying the blues. They even put out fake budgets. Searching for the words "fake budget" on Lebo Citizens, I found Fake budget will be posted soon. We get the same lists of unknowns. We know, that darn governor... But how do you do it? You want to make cuts far away from the student, yet manage to give Timmy his raise every year.  What are you cutting this year? FLES?

Word is that "The Grievance" doesn't look good for the school district. Still hoping to hear any time now, right? Of course, "typical for this time of year."

For more on what Dan Remely refers to as a tax revolt, read Valuation changes, fairness pledged in Mt. Lebanon. 

Latest dockets concerning the Grievance

Finally, I found the right County website which houses all the dockets.  Here is the docket that MTLSD filed asking for clarification.

This just appeared this week as a response from the MLEA.

I am not an attorney, so all you attorneys out there, please translate.

Current Status of the Teachers' Grievance

At last night's school board meeting, a resident asked for an update concerning the grievance. Solicitor Tom Peterson answered the question by saying that the arbitrator issued an initial decision that neither the MLEA nor the District really fully understood.  They had different interpretations of the scope of the relief, so the District submitted a few questions to the arbitrator to clarify her award.

The arbitrator concluded that certain people should be advanced on the pay scale, but it wasn't clear whom or how many people. The District doesn't have any idea of the economic scope of the decision. They are waiting for a final award and hope to hear from her any time now.

The podcast is available here. The status of the grievance is answered at the very end of the podcast.

Grievance Update

Back in April,  MTLSD Solicitor Tom Peterson announced that the substitute teacher grievance will be heard in September.

Currently, long-term subs remain at Step 1 of the salary schedule if the district hires them full time with a contract. The teachers union says that's against the state school code, and if its argument is upheld, the district could pay more than $800,000 every year for the teachers' salaries and accumulated sick days, solicitor Tom Peterson said.

Here it is, November 1, 2012 and no update about the grievance.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/union-urges-upgrade-in-salary-for-substitute-teachers-in-mt-lebanon-schools-632132/

David Huston decided to email the board and find out.  Here is Josephine Posti's response.

From: JPosti@mtlsd.net
To: David Huston SchoolBoardEmaillist@mtlsd.net
Subject: RE: grievance
Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2012 12:14:46 +0000
Mr. Huston,

It will still be a few months before we get a decision.

For the Board,

Josephine Posti
President
Mt. Lebanon School Board
412.667.1479
http://jposti.blogspot.com

Mission: To provide the best education possible for each and every student

If a couple means two, a few means three or more.  That brings us to February when Josephine Posti and Mary Birks will be running for re-election. Timing should be interesting.

Larry is excited, but so is Mary

I uploaded both meeting podcasts, but only had a chance to watch part of the discussion meeting.

No surprises. The Board is going to move forward with fundraising. Naturally, Larry is excited, but so is Mary. Surprisingly, Elaine Cappucci is skeptical, yet supportive. She has concerns with staff concentrating on fundraising instead of education. Dr. Steinhauer volunteered the services of taxpayer-funded clerical staff.  Perhaps Larry will bring in adult foreign workers at minimum wage to do the actual staff and fundraising grunt work to keep the costs low.

More power to these folks. If they can raise the money, then go for it. It is unfortunate that the Board will not admit to making a mistake by proceeding with a high school renovation of such grandeur without figuring how to finance it. It was revealed last night that the State is eighteen months behind in state reimbursement for construction. Mary and Jo will blame Corbett, Bush, the Mayans, and Hurricane Katrina. No word on the MLEA grievance.

Above the line...below the line

Josephine Posti explained that entire "list" is confidential out of respect to the staff cuts below the line. I guess there is no respect for the 13 staff cuts above the line.  I did hear that one elementary school only has 239 students, while another school has over 400 students.

It seems as though that $900,000 grievance is not a one time thing. If the MLEA wins the grievance, it will be a recurring cost, until all 16+ steps are covered.  The board was hoodwinked.  Dan Remely, as other board members, was under the impression that the grievance was a one time cost.  Mr. Peterson had to explain that the grievance includes long-term subs who started at Step 1.  The District's exposure to this grievance includes 100 teachers. It could be a recurring cost for 14 or 15 years.

I am still watching the meeting, but I understand that Jennifer Kline, as well as the other students who spoke, did an excellent job.  These comments can be heard towards the end of Part 2 of the podcast.   I hope the school board understands how important the role of the community service coordinator is to the students.

Update March 28, 2012 1:04 P.M. Almanac article, "Mt. Lebanon eyes staff cuts"  (saved in Google Docs)

A group of about a dozen students also turned out in defense of high school community service coordinator Judith Kolko, presenting a petition with more than 800 signatures.

"Her contributions to the school and all of Mt. Lebanon are immeasurable," explained high school student Jennifer Kline. "Many students were visibly confused and outraged that this option is even on the table."

The audio clip of high school student Jennifer Kline's comments can be heard here. Yes, Jennifer, the school board priorities need to be reexamined!  Bravo on getting signatures from half the student body for your petition!!!

"The List"

No, not THAT list.  This list. The list that Molly Born refers to in today's PG. Staff cuts possible in Mt. Lebanon schools

From Center Court Blog, the March Board Report.

...we have started in-depth discussions concerning next year’s budget. Last month we discussed the possibility of using some of our undesignated fund balance in addition to reductions and a small millage increase in order to close a budget gap of about $2 million for next year in addition to possible exposure from a grievance filed by MLEA for about $900,000. Those reductions could include cuts that may mean possible reductions in payment for supplies and services, paid extra duty assignments and positions vacated by retirees. As we discuss these possibilities, along with any use of reserves or increasing millage, we would like your feedback. Dr. Steinhauer has prepared information about the possible reductions being discussed and it's available here. The next budget meeting will take place at 7PM March 26 in the JMS library.

In addition to public meetings, we’ve scheduled a couple of community coffees during the next few weeks. These are opportunities for you to sit down with a small group of Board members in an informal setting, ask questions, share your concerns and enjoy some time together. The first two coffees will be Saturday, March 31 from 9-11AM at Coffee Tree on Washington Road and Wednesday, April 25 from 7-9AM at Orbis Caffe (formerly Aldo's). I’ll be at the March 31 coffee with Mr. Goldman and Mr. Ostergaard and Mrs. Cappucci will be at the April 25 coffee with Mr. Cooper and Mrs. Birks. No appointment is necessary and we hope to see you there.

Of course, none of this is found on the District website.  You have to go to the unofficial blog to get official information. (Why do we have Cissy Bowman again? I forget.)