The following letter was written by Mt. Lebanon resident, Steve Diaz.
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 2:07 pm
Members of the school board: Well, another interesting unanimous decision has come down from you disposing of our money. Apparently you have now, cumulatively over the past 2 years, given a total of some 11% of salary increases to the district superintendent, and given him more time off as well. Given the state of the economy in general, and of the finances of our school district in particular, it bears some analysis as to what might be the basis for such a decision. I suppose there were objective professional criteria used to justify such a decision, but in examining those I personally think might be pertinent I find myself once again baffled by the seemingly careless way you dispose of other people's money (in this case, the money of the taxpayers of the Mt. Lebanon School District.)
Among the criteria I would expect the school board to consider in determining any potential increase in compensation might be: (1) academic performance of our schools; (2) management of the school renovation process; and (3) our general fiscal condition. By any of these objective standards, your decision is unwise and unfounded. First, with regard to academic performance, since the superintendent was hired we have realized a steady decline in our standing against other competing local districts, including the currently No. 1-ranked district in Allegheny County, which it may recalled "lost" our current superintendent (many residents of that district tell me due to his performance there, while others say he left to find a new construction project). Second, in view of the incredible fiasco we have had with bids, consultants, estimates, failed and mismanaged public hearings and processes, ineffective permit presentations (including a lost lawsuit against the municipality for which the taxpayers had to pay the costs of both sides), the school board seems to have completely exculpated its chief manager, the superintendent, from any performance responsibility for the results (which is curious, given that you don't accept any responsibility either, leaving no one accountable for the waste and failures in that matter to date--oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that it is the outside consultants, whose contracts you have also not terminated, who bear all the political blame, but none of the performance responsibility for that). And lastly, there is the matter of the fiscal shape we are in. You have significantly raised our taxes this past year, and but for the tradition of no tax raise in an election year, you will certainly to do so again next year, regardless of public input and pressure against it (most of those of us who pay the bills have not enjoyed 11% increases in the past 2 years). We are hopelessly undone by the likely costs of our ever-shrinking "renovation" project, and we have had no special insight or leadership from our top staff member, who you generously reward financially. We have a massive coming pension obligation that will have to be paid for, somehow, but I guess you are prepared just to raise taxes as much as "necessary". Nonetheless, money is an object in this district at this time. Do you have any idea, from the earned income tax or otherwise, whether the taxpayers of this district have, on average, had such a generous increase in income? Did you measure your generosity with our money against our ability to pay? Is there some rational fear of losing a uniquely qualified employee or other "special" reason to ignore the fiscal facts of the day in setting the pay for the superintendent? Once again, your judgement in fiscal and oversight matters is demonstrated to be callous to the needs of the community you serve and to the efficient and economical use of our money.
The first time I ever addressed the board I told you that "now is not the time" for lavish expenditures and tax increases. You did not heed my advice. Since that time, not only has the financial situation deteriorated to Depression conditions (I remind you that there is an effective unemployment rate in excess of 16% according to all mainstream economists, and there have been more home foreclosures in the US in the past 3 years than in the 1930's), but the situation has only gotten worse, worldwide. We now find that all of your contrived "planning" to allow our valuable school assets to deteriorate by a deliberate policy of not maintaing them in a cynical attempt at self-justification for building a new high school, regardless of need or affordability, has come to a dead-end--unless you tax us even more (the limit to your willingness to borrow, however, seems to be reached at your desire to do anything to avoid a public choice, that is, and election, as would be necessary if more borrowed funds are required, apparently because you understand that you would lose such an election). I have yet to mention the underlying inconvenience (from your perspective) that our already small school district of a mere 5,000 or so students, is on a downward population spiral, according to your own figures. We simply don't need to ruin this community financially to educate our kids. Have you forgotten that this is about the quality of education we offer in Mt. Lebanon? The strongest argument can be made that you are not only tax-insensitive and arrogant, but that you are pursuing policies that inexorably lead only to the destruction of quality education in this community. If all the points are ultimately about the children and their education, then your misuse of our assets is a true man-made disaster of intellectual dishonesty. Your decision to grant an economic reward for the kind of leadership under which this school district currently strains is merely an indication of how education unfriendly you truly are.
I would be disappointed, but, being a rational man, I have come to expect the irrational and the irresponsible from this school board.
With Due Respect. Steve Diaz
