School board reorganization meeting on Monday

I have been waiting for this day. The Reign of Terror will be over, according to the Reorganization meeting agenda.

Also on the agenda is the appointment of the solicitor, that Thomas P. Peterson be appointed School Board Solicitor for one year. Remember, he didn't see a conflict of interest with a former school board director approving contracts with her employer. I hope the school board keeps that in mind when they appoint Peterson again.

I am hoping for some big changes with the reorganization. We're long overdue.

School Board Reorganization meeting

Last night, the school board directors reorganized and selected Mary Birks as the new president of the Mt. Lebanon School Board.

Mary had a heated first meeting. Parents were up in arms about the recent racist incidents at our schools, and wanted specifics. One parent used the N-word when describing what was taking place and Mary freaked out. I wonder if MTLSD will edit that out when airing the meeting.

Here is the unedited audio. December 5, 2016 Reorganization Meeting

Commission agenda posted

The agenda for Monday's commission organization meeting has been posted on the municipal website.

John Bendel will be our next president and Kelly Fraasch will be vice-president for 2015. 

Additionally: 

Consideration of a request from Commissioner Linfante. 

The Home Rule Charter provides that Commissioners shall not miss three consecutive regular meetings of the Commission without being excused by the Commission. 

Due to a health issue, Commissioner Linfante has asked to be excused from the regular commission meetings in January, February and March of 2015. 

Recommended Action: Move to approve the request of Commissioner Linfante to be excused from the next three regular commission meetings.

From Manager Steve Feller's weekly report:

Larry's excited!

The Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors held a reorganization meeting on December 1, 2014. In a unanimous vote, Lawrence Lebowitz was elected Board President and Mary Birks as Board Vice-President for a term of one year. The School Board also took action to appoint Thomas P. Peterson as School Board Solicitor and set the Board calendar for 2015.

Podcast is available here.

No need for a new photo

Meet the new president and vice president of the Mt. Lebanon School Board. No need for a new photograph.

Elaine Cappucci is president again with Larry Lebowitz serving again as vice-president. Dan Remely, Mary Birks, Mike Riemer, and Bill Moorhead were sworn in tonight. Dan never raised his right hand. Mike Riemer was the only one who used a Bible. Just some fun things to watch out for when watching the Reorganization meeting on TV.

Who will be the next school board president?

On Monday, December 2, 2013, the newly elected school board directors will be sworn into office. According to the agenda, the school board directors will be nominating and electing a new president.

My money is on Larry Lebowitz for president. I bet Mary Birks will be vice president.

Something is up UPDATED

I feel like something is not right in the municipality. Monday's meeting is set for the reorganization. According to the agenda,

John Bendel 1. Nomination and election of Commission President for 2013.
Recommended Action: Move to nominate and elect Matt Kluck as Commission President.

Dave Brumfield 2. Nomination and election of Commission Vice President for 2013.
Recommended Action: Move to nominate and elect __________________ as Vice President. 

Why the lack of transparency for VP? Who is the mystery person? It will be one of three people, listed in alphabetical order:

• John Bendel
• Kelly Fraasch
• Kristen Linfante

It is not up to us to decide, unfortunately. Sadly, it isn't up to the president either. It is done by majority vote. It also has nothing to do with qualifications or how engaged the commissioner is.  In this situation, all three are Democrats, so it isn't a party thing. It might have something to do with musical abilities, but I can't be sure. 

Who would you want to be VP? Remember, commissioners serve four years, so not everyone gets a turn.  My vote goes to the one who is respectful of residents, someone who is engaged with the community, someone who truly listens to constituents. Sorry, but my commissioner does not fit that bill.

Update January 5, 2013 2:15 PM When the comments turned to talk of a rotation, I tried calling Kelly Fraasch this morning for verification. I then emailed her this:

Kelly,

Would you by any chance know who was president and VP of the Commission by Ward? I have only been involved for the last couple of years. Is there a rotation?
Thanks.
Elaine Gillen

Here is her response:

Hi Elaine,

Happy New Year!

I apologize for not answering the phone earlier today but I was in a meeting.
I requested the listing a couple of days ago from our Municipal Manager.
Please see the attached document.

I don't find a solid rotation. One area that I do find consistent is everytime a "freshman" Commissioner's Ward comes up for President they don't take that spot.
For example, Dan Miller in 08, he did not get to be President. Dale Colby (Ward 4) took the spot as President and John Daley (Ward 2) as VP. When John Daley (Ward 2) was President, Raja (Ward 1) became VP and when Raja (Ward 1) was President then Dan Miller (Ward 5) became VP. Dan Miller was President and Joe (Ward 3) was VP last year so since Joe was not elected Dave Brumfield took the spot of President and Matt Kluck as VP.

I hope that is what you are looking for, if not, feel free to call me or email me with further questions.

Kelly Fraasch
Commissioner, Ward 5

The results are in...

Elaine Cappucci is President. Larry Lebowitz is Vice President. No fights tonight. Everything was decided in advance.

From the District website:

Mt. Lebanon School Board Elects New Leadership at Reorganization MeetingThe Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors held a reorganization meeting on December 3, 2012. In a unanimous vote, Elaine Cappucci was elected Board President and Lawrence Lebowitz as Board Vice-President for a term of one year. The School Board also took action to appointed Thomas P. Peterson as School Board Solicitor and set the Board calendar for 2013.

Up for some entertainment?

On Monday, December 3, the Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors will be electing their new president and vice president during their Reorganization Meeting. The agenda has been published and can be found here.

My favorite reorg. meeting was held in December 2009.  Fighting, lying, name-calling - it had it all. I watched it on TV and could not believe what I was seeing. It was the first time I tuned into a school board meeting. Ahh, those were the days.

The following year, Josephine Posti got everyone in line and won the president's seat. That meeting was definitely a 180 from the previous year.

Posti won again in 2012.  Will she go for three? Will she leave kicking and screaming? Will Larry "I'm excited" Lebowitz steal the crown? Will Proud Mary be rollin', rollin' her way to the top? Will Vice President Cappucci go on to be president or will she end up being stunned as Josephine was on December 3, 2007 when Mark Hart was elected? Stay tuned...

County taxes n'at

I read in today's Post Gazette that county taxes are going up.  I hope Onorato vetoes it.

The increase, from 4.69 mills to 5.69 mills, would cost taxpayers an extra $100 per $100,000 in property value, prior to any exemptions. The final cost is even more infuriating because it comes as property owners are waiting for their new county assessments. For many people, that will mean another tax increase -- a double whammy. At a minimum, council should have put off any talk of a tax hike until the impact of the reassessment is clear.

Read more: Double whammy: County council must back off its stealth tax hike

Meanwhile, tomorrow could be Josephine Posti's last day as school board president.  The reorganization meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.  Reorganization agenda

Pittsburgh Business Times School Rankings

After studying the PBT School Rankings Pittsburgh Business Times 2011 Guide to Western PA Schools, I am glad to see Dr. Steinhauer take charge with his reorganization plan including the reappointment of Dr. Deborah Allen in a new role as the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education.  My grandson is in the Upper St. Clair Schools and was pleased to see this:

Featured School
Upper St. Clair High School has ranked at the top of the 11th grade list for six years. But that doesn’t mean it’s willing to rest on its laurels: It’s constantly reviewing and improving curriculum to stay on top of the changing times.

As a Mt. Lebanon taxpayer, I am concerned. On Josephine Posti's Center Court blog, she lists some of the highlights.  Here are some "highlights" that she forgot to mention.

Middle Schools:
Mellon dropped 2 spots for 7th grade
Mellon dropped 6 spots for 6th grade

Elementary Schools:
Fifth grade: Lincoln dropped 1 spot
                  Jefferson dropped 6 spots
                  Markham dropped 3 spots
                  Washington dropped 1 spot
                  Foster dropped 11 spots
                  Hoover dropped 9 spots
Fourth grade: Lincoln dropped 5 spots
                     Markham dropped 23 spots
                     Washington dropped 1 spot
                     Hoover dropped 51 spots
Third grade: Lincoln dropped 18 spots
                   Hoover dropped 16 spots     

Questions About the Reorganization

The latest post on Josephine Posti's Center Court blog attempts to answer questions about the reorganization that took place last Friday. In my mind, this has raised more questions.

Q. When will other positions impacted by the reorganization be announced? The Board hasn't approved this reorganization and won't do so until April 18, 2011.  According to the answer in this first question, doesn't it sound like the Board was taken by surprise?  Maybe it is the Board who is asking this question.

Q.Is this announcement a reaction to the District's current or future budget situation? I have a suggestion for significant savings.  Postpone the April 28 Groundbreaking Ceremony and regroup.  Shouldn't this plan be in place before that shovel goes in the ground?  Yes, we are getting a budget with no millage impact, but did they forget what they did to us last year?  Is it coincidental that this is an election year?  This is not the time to be starting a $113.3 million project. 

Q.Will there be staffing changes within the teaching staff? I was at a Audit and Finance Committee meeting when Jan Klein told us that we could save $115,000 for each teacher retirement with no replacement.  From the District website:

Budget Assumptions – The District will closely monitor staff retirements since salaries are the largest single factor in school costs.  Each teacher retirement will save the District about $50,000 if a replacement teacher is required.  If no replacement is required, savings could be an extra $65,000.  Early estimates are for ten teacher retirements.

I can't put my finger on it right now, but we were told that retiring teachers were not going to be replaced.

Q.Why now?
A.  These changes aren't changes that previous superintendents haven't considered. Huh?

From the District website:

And finally, the District is expecting no more revenues from Federal Stimulus Funds and no increase in funding from the State.  This, coupled with sluggish home sales and flat revenues from Earned Income taxes, all point to a challenging budget preparation process.

I applaud Dr. Steinhauer for taking these necessary and long overdue steps to reorganize.  Maybe it is also time to rethink the timing of the high school renovation too.  Please.