Back to the budget

Thanks to the disrespectful PTSA email, the school board received a break from me for a few days.  I am back on track now. In today's Trib article Upper St. Clair district, teachers to consider concessions, pay freezes for PA Numero Uno Superintendent, Patrick O'Toole and the USC finance director have opened up the door for more discussions with the teachers' union over concessions that could help close a $3.2 million deficit anticipated in the next school year.
In Mt. Lebanon, we're considering cutting back on maintenance again (that is what got us into trouble with our school buildings) and eliminating towels.  The List v 2.0 shows $879,000 in cuts. Whoopie. Of course, everything is hush-hush here in Leboland. The public knows more about what is going on in Upper St. Clair than what the Mt. Lebanon School Board has shared with its stakeholders. We are told nothing. We have a right to know, folks.

Saving money USC style

While our school board was debating about eliminating towels at the athletic facility at the stadium (#29), Upper St. Clair was exploring increased class sizes.

The USC School District is researching what—if any—classrooms it can increase in size to save money on staffing.
Administrators presented information to the school board Monday night.
"We're not talking about increasing class size because we want to, but because we might need to," said Rebecca Stern, school board president.

In addition, the USC superintendent and finance director were receptive to pay freezes.  I didn't hear what number Steinhauer's and Klein's pay freeze was on "the list." Maybe they were number 39 and 40.  It is a shame that the rest of the list is confidential.

Another hot topic in USC was athletics. Superintendent O'Toole said there has been no decrease in athletic participation since the pay-to-play fees were introduced at the beginning of the school year. The district received $60,000 in fees.

Don't miss this in the USC Patch:
New Baker Elementary Principal
Patrick McClintock-Comeaux will become the new Baker Elementary principal on April 9...

McClintock-Comeaux is currently the principal of Stephen C. Foster Elementary School in the Mt. Lebanon School District.

He is an Upper St. Clair High School graduate and was a teacher and curriculum leader in the Upper St. Clair School District from 1995 to 2001

Read more: USC school board explores increasing class sizes

Union urges teachers to "seriously consider" pay freeze

In today's Post Gazette.

Union urges teachers to "seriously consider" pay freeze