Well, well, well

Thanks to the School District website, I see that January is School Board Recognition Month.

             

School Board Directors sans Scott

January is School Board Recognition month, giving us an opportunity to thank our Board members Elaine Cappucci-President, Lawrence Lebowitz- Vice-President, Mary Birks, William Cooper, Scott Goldman, Edward Kubit, William Moorhead, Daniel Remely, and Michael Riemer, who volunteer so much of their time to provide strong public schools for our community. For more than 175 years, communities in Pennsylvania have had a voice in the operation of their schools through a locally elected board of school directors consisting of individuals from their community. These people are our neighbors, friends, community leaders, and parents– all with one common goal – making sure students are properly educated in preparation for life. 

Our School Board enables us to have local control of our public schools, meaning that decisions on school programs are made by local, elected representatives who understand the community’s unique challenges, values, culture and circumstances. With the advice and counsel of the educational professionals they hire, our school board has a bearing on virtually every aspect of our schools. It’s a huge responsibility and we are thankful to our board members for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to providing the best education possible for our students and a strong school system that benefits our community.

Yep, there they are, all except Scott Goldman. Not even a cardboard cutout of the lone wolf, or is it coyote? Scott Goldman is the only one who says what he feels and votes according to his conscience. For that, he doesn't make the photo, I guess.

This is the group that will be approving a $74,000 trophy case tonight, a number that is listed as the low responsible bid. What it really represents is the ONLY responsible bid. I missed a golden opportunity. I should have subcontracted a cabinet maker and submitted a bid for $70,000 and make a tidy profit.  Boy, did I screw up.

We are thankful for this group of dedicated volunteers who brought us TERC Investigations, Go Zones, $2.6+ million in change orders, student parking fees, activity fees, lucrative salary deals for administrators, and for hitting a new low in rudeness to stakeholders and parents.

Yes, we are thankful. Happy School Board Recognition Month!

Administrators getting average increase of 3%

The June 17, 2013 Agenda has been posted on the MTLSD website. In a previous Lebo Citizens post, Annual salary adjustments? percentages were not shared with the public. Monday's agenda shows:

(2) Approval of Annual Salaries for 12-Month Secretaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of contracted salaries for 12-month secretaries as listed effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase as negotiated of 2.89% over the duration of the contract.

(3) Approval of Annual Salaries for Custodial/Maintenance Employees: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of contracted salaries for custodial/maintenance employees effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase as negotiated of 3.0% over the duration of the contract.

(4) Approval of Annual Salaries for Administrative Assistants/Supervisors: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of salary adjustments for administrative

assistants/supervisors effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase of 2.8%.

(5) Approval of Annual Salaries for Specialists: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of salary adjustments for specialists effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase of 2.8%.

(6) Approval of Salaries for Head Custodians: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of salary adjustments for head custodians effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an average increase of 2.8%.

(7) Approval of Administrative Salaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2013-2014 list of annual salaries for administrators effective July 1, 2013, reflecting an increase in accordance with the Act 93 agreement of 1.7% plus merit for an average increase of 3.0%.

This does not include the Superintendent. Timmy's raise should be announced next month or so. His contract runs from July 1-June 30.

USC, Bethel, but not here UPDATED

A Lebo Citizens reader was kind enough to send me the following message from the Bethel Park School Board President, Donna Cook. http://www.bpsd.org/boardmessage.aspx

The take-away that I got from President Cook's message:

• All Bethel Park Administrators voluntarily took a wage freeze for the 2011-2012 school year.
• The  school board appreciates their constituents' attendance and participation in these meetings;  it has become increasingly difficult to sit silently while statements are being made that are simply not correct.

All BP's administrators voluntarily took a wage freeze for 2011-2012.  Upper St. Clair's top administrators took voluntary wage freezes. All of our school administrators got sizable increases. We have parents complaining about the math program. One parent's comments from Monday's meeting about our math program are spot on. Monday's presentation was illustrating a state wide comparison. Interestingly enough, the regional comparison is disappointing. Here is a page from the presentation comparing math SAT scores. We're ranked 18, while Upper St. Clair is ranked #8, North Allegheny 10, and Fox Chapel is ranked at 14. Dr. Deb Allen said that we must not rest on our laurels. I don't think we have "laurels to rest on." Our science scores are marginal.  While our super Super is blogging about Chinese proverbs and is "transfixed" while doing photo essays on the view outside of his window, our school board directors continue to spend money like there is no tomorrow.  If the Mayans are right, maybe there will be no tomorrow, but in the meantime, how about putting a cork in it, Josephine? Stop wasting our money.

The second point is for my commissioner's benefit.

Update November 23, 2012 2:45 PM Witte comment about MTLSD math program
Also available here:
Witte comment on Lebocitizens.com

Yes, he is very deserving. UPDATED

The Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Linda Lane turned down her raise for a second year in a row. So far, she has declined $35,000 in pay.

After the vote, Ms. Lane said that she and the top academic team will forgo pay raises.

The decision comes as the district has made unprecedented teacher furloughs and tackles a budget deficit.

Ms. Lane said the decision is in recognition of the serious fiscal problems the district face and a statement of support "for the district and those who aren't with us. We lost a lot of good folks."

Ms. Lane's contract calls for a raise of $5,000 each year as well as a bonus of $10,000 each year if certain performance goals are met. For 2012, she was eligible for the full $15,000. But for 2013, she was not eligible for the bonus amount because state test scores dropped.

Back to the bubble, our super Super gets raises every year. Dale Ostergaard concluded, "I am also normally conservative when it comes to raises, but I think in this particular case with a single individual Dr. Steinhauer is very deserving."

Yes, he is very deserving. As I commented in my last thread about grinding and a 16 year old girl who was carried off the dance floor and taken to St. Clair and then later to Children's Hosptal because she was drunk, the PG story was the number one emailed story according to the PG.

Just last month, Mt. Lebanon School District was recognized in the PG story, PSSA results come up short in Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park.  Goal number four 4. Student Achievement – The Superintendent will maintain or improve student achievement. We can get another warning label from PA and Timmy will be maintaining student achievement. Yes, he is very deserving, Dale.

The number one superintendent in the state, Dr. Patrick O'Toole voluntarily froze his salary as well as the financial director's salary. Certainly Dale, O'Toole is very deserving.

I guess I shouldn't be so harsh with Dr. Steinhauer. I actually got a response from his office the other day to an email I sent.

Fwd: Your website

From	egillen476 egillen476@aol.com
To	schoolboard schoolboard@mtlsd.net
Cc	TSteinhauer TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net, CBowman CBowman@mtlsd.net

While I never received a response from ANY of the eleven of you, I see that the Board reports were updated and the goals have been posted. Thank you. Why would you remove the existing reports? Would you please include all of the reports for the year?

Still nothing for the Extra Mile Award. If you just cut and paste from
the Board President's Reports, my request is a rather simple one to
fulfill.
Elaine Gillen

-----Original Message-----
From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: schoolboard <schoolboard@mtlsd.net>
Cc: TSteinhauer <TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net>; CBowman <CBowman@mtlsd.net>;
EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Oct 17, 2012 3:56 pm
Subject: Your website

When do you plan to update your website?

Extra Mile Award is from January 2012.
Superintendent Board Reports are from April 2012.
Board President Reports are from March 2012.
Superintendent Goals are from last year?
The agenda for Monday's meeting was finally posted on Monday morning.

Is this Cissy Bowman's responsibility?

Elaine Gillen

Finally, I got a response from an email I sent to the board.
Response from Tim Steinhauer While all hell was breaking loose over grinding at dances, Tim is enjoying his very deserving additional vacation days. Does an automated response from his office satisfy goal number five, Superintendent Performance Goals 2012-2013? Tim is well on his way for an increase next year.
Update October 25, 2012 1:30 PM Timothy Steinhauer's contract is available here. It is from June 8, 2009. It does not reflect his current salary, contract extension or additional vacation days. Article V permits him to undertake consulting work during his vacation days or with prior written approval from the Board. In other words, any time he wants.

USC Superintendent is at it again

From Upper St. Clair Patch:

USC School Administrative Changes Represent Savings

Take a look at who's who for 2012-13 and some positions that have been eliminated.

The following restructuring of the Upper St. Clair School District administrative team represents approximately $100,000 in salary savings for 2012-13, according to information provided by Dr. Patrick O'Toole, superintendent:

• Dr. Sharon Suritsky was officially appointed as assistant superintendent after serving as acting assistant to the superintendent/supervisor of special education since 2009.
• Melissa Garvin started her assignment as the supervisor of special education in February. She came to USC from Wesley Spectrum Services, where she was director of academics and instruction.
• Patrick McClintock-Comeaux returned to USC as principal of Baker Elementary School, from Stephen C. Foster Elementary School in Mt. Lebanon. He was a teacher and curriculum leader at USC from 1995 to 2001.
• John Rozzo, who has served as assistant principal at Fort Couch Middle School since 2005, became the academic principal for both Boyce and Fort Couch middle schools.
• Lou Angelo, who was recently named the Pennsylvania Assistant Principal of the Year, was promoted to associate principal of Upper St. Clair High School. He had been the assistant principal at the high school since 2006. Christine Mussomeli was hired to replace him as assistant principal, effective Aug. 15.
• Amy Pfender was named assistant principal at Boyce and Fort Couch middle schools, effective March 1. In her role as special education curriculum leader, she has assisted principal Karen Brown at Boyce Middle School since 2009.

As part of the reorganization, two district office positions (director of human resources and director of operations, community relations and special projects) and one building-level position (director of high school guidance) have been eliminated.

********

Here in Mt. Lebanon, we pass out administrative raises left and right. Has there been a complete turnover in school principals in Mt. Lebanon? I lost track.

http://upperstclair.patch.com/articles/usc-school-administrative-changes-represent-savings

Twenty MTLSD administrators received salary increases

Remember how the school board directors agonized over the cost reductions totaling approximately $850,000? They were able to reduce costs by charging students for parking at $50 per student, eliminating six part time library clerks and one custodian, eliminating the teacher applicant software, and more.

It turns out that twenty Mt. Lebanon School District administrators received salary increases for the 2012-2013 school year averaging three percent. Here is the breakdown:

• Deb Allen, assistant superintendent and top earner, went from $133,136 to $135,693.
• Ron Davis, assistant superintendent, went from $117,853 to $121,671
• Jan Klein, finance director, went from $124,451 to $133,054

In today's PG, Molly Born was able to clarify the technicality concerning Jan Klein's salary adjustment in Mt. Lebanon school officials given raises.

"She would not have been able to achieve her 3 percent raise for meeting expectations because she was at the top of her salary scale," Ms. Posti said.

Upper St. Clair's finance director declined a payraise. We take care of our finance director here in Lebo.

The increases were based on evaluations; 1.5% increase if approaching expectations, 3% increase for those who met expectations, and 4.5% increase for those who far exceeded expectations. 1.5% for those who approached expectations??? Does that mean "Close enough?" Are we playing horseshoes?

What about Dr. Steinhauer and his increase?

The board will approve superintendent Tim Steinhauer's salary sometime in the coming months. For the 2011-12 fiscal year, he earned $151,420 -- an increase of 3.5 percent from the previous year.

Dr. Steinhauer eliminated the supervisors, but has created "Dean of Students." I don't know how much of a savings there is with this new position, but I am sure that the board will be giving Dr. Steinhauer a 4.5 percent increase since he is doing a bang up job. Remember the super Super from  USC who requested a pay freeze? Not here. We charge students for parking, so that our administrators can get their raises. Only in Mt. Lebanon.

Is this what they are trying to sneak in?

The School Board usually has two meetings per month, a discussion meeting followed by a business meeting (a voting meeting) the following week. For the first time that I am aware of, the School Board will have the discussion meeting and the voting meeting all rolled into one on Monday, July 16.  The agenda has some irregularities this time.

(2) Revision to 2012-2013 Administrative Salaries – The Board will be asked to approve a revised list of salary adjustments for administrators previously approved by the Board. Revision to 2012-2013 Administrative Salaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the revised 2012-2013 list of annual salary adjustments for administrators effective July 1, 2012 

(3) Act 93 Administrative Agreement – The Board will be asked to consider an Act 93 agreement with the District’s administrators. Act 93 Administrative Agreement: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the Act 93 Administrative Pay for Performance Plan as presented effective July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017.

A revision to the administrative salaries?  What are they? Will we find out after they are approved? Where is the transparency?

Act 93 Administrative Agreement - isn't that Jan Klein?  Is she getting a raise? Where is her agreement? Will we have to file a Right To Know? Again, where is the transparency?

I am sure that Josephine Posti will say that the Board is transparent. Look at:

(6) Publication of Listing of Liened Taxes – Annually, the Board approves the publication of all properties on which taxes for the prior year have not yet been paid. This list is provided by the Tax Office and is recommended for public view. The Superintendent recommends approval of this action.

List of Liened Taxes: RESOLVED, That the Board approves for public display the list of liened taxes for the 2011 tax year.

They are quick to approve for public display the list of liened taxes, but what about YSA payments for the Joint Maintenance Agreement? Why am I waiting for 30 days to find out the status of my RTK? We don't want to shame them, now do we?

They sure like to take care of themselves...

The agenda for Monday's School Board meeting has some items listed that should be highlighted.
June 18, 2012 School Board Meeting Agenda

(6) Approval of Administrative Salaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the 2012-2013 list of annual salary adjustments for administrators effective July 1, 2012, reflecting an average increase of 3.0%.

*(7) Act 93 Administrative Agreement: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the Act 93 Administrative Pay for Performance Plan as presented effective July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017.

Whereas Upper St. Clair administrative salaries are frozen, here in Mt. Lebanon where students are charged for parking, our administrators get a 3.0% increase.  Nice, huh?
I believe Jan Klein falls under Act 93. I haven't heard the podcast yet, but is this an increase or a decrease?

And the infamous Nello Change Order has entered the picture again.

*(6) High School Project Change Order #GC-001: RESOLVED, That the Board approves Change order GC-001 dated June 7, 2012 to Nello Construction in the amount of $189,306 for the importing of new earth material and changes in waterproofing and grade beam work substantially in the form presented.

*All matters of new business were considered and discussed by the Board at its Discussion Meeting on June 11, 2012, except as noted (*).