I don't think it is a case of sour grapes...

OK, members of the School Board and Commission filed a police report against me for publishing a comment using the word, "Execute." I removed the comment.

Read Josephine Posti's latest one,  Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett bombing public education into Stone Age

I am told that I have hate in my heart. But Posti continually writes about the evils of Corbett and charter schools. It is written in her post:

Giving only parents the authority to make executive decisions about the school their students attend marginalizes other local taxpayers and silences the voices of the rest of the community and the locally elected school board members. 

I am confused. Isn't that what was done to four thousand residents when we signed that petition to cap the renovation project? Or is that the hate in my heart again?

62+ days until Election Day

Steve Diaz, guest writer on this blog, has submitted another post. This time, it is out of respect for the 4,000 people who signed the petition to cap the renovation project at $75 million. The following pledge is for school board members, commissioners and candidates.  Since no one seems to be campaigning with just 62 plus days to go, this pledge written by Steve Diaz might be a good start.  And for the incumbents, the current poll shows 67% of voters feel that ALL school board directors should resign. Only 25 votes (13%) out of 186 total voters feel that the school board is doing a fine job.

A Pledge for Public Service:

As an informed citizen, I hereby call upon every elected official of the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon and the Mt. Lebanon School District, and all candidates for such office, to publicly agree to be bound by the following principles of open representative government:

MT. LEBANON OFFICE HOLDER/CANDIDATE PLEDGE OF RESPECT FOR CONSTITUENTS

As an elected official of the Mt. Lebanon School Board, or of the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, or as a candidate for a seat on the Mt. Lebanon School Board or the Council of the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, I pledge that my public service will be dedicated to the following principles:

1.  It is my duty to give due and patient consideration to the substance of constituent sentiment on all matters of policy and taxation.

2.  It is my duty to provide a civil, respectful, and thoughtful response to every constituent communication, whether or not I agree with the points of view expressed by my constituents.

3.  It is my duty to be forthright, complete, honest, accurate, and fair in every communication I have with my constituents.

4.  It is my duty to be clear and consistent with my constituents as to my position on all issues, and to be honest, forthright, and timely when I deem it desirable to change my position on public matters.

5.  It is my duty to conduct myself at all times in an open and transparent manner, avoiding meetings with other public officials in circumstances that are likely to hide from public scrutiny my actions and purposes.

6.  It is my duty to assure that meetings at which public business is conducted or decided are open, transparent, duly noticed, and scheduled so as to maximize the opportunity of the public to attend, observe, and/or participate.

7.  It is my duty to fully disclose all information that I reasonably believe is of interest to my constituents and to assure full disclosure and full public knowledge of how official business is conducted.

8.  It is my duty to assure that intergovernmental meetings and coordination are fully open and transparent in a timely manner to my constituents.

9.  It is my duty to seek redress from appropriate authorities for all acts of fraud, waste, abuse, or unethical, illegal, or improper conduct by public officials and employees in the course of my official duties.

10.  It is my duty to consider and avoid any unnecessarily negative impact on the economic welfare of my constituents, including taxation.

11.  It is my duty to speak out against and to actively oppose all attempts to limit diversity of opinion by official policy or action, formal or informal.

12.  It is my duty to insist upon compliance with these principles by the body to which I am elected, and to hold my colleagues accountable to these principles as well.

I ask each person holding or seeking public office in this Municipality or this School District to subscribe to these principles by giving their written concurrence, thereby indicating their commitment to constituent service and respect.  I would hope that all members of the Council and the School Board, and all candidates for seats on these bodies will subscribe to these basic democratic principles now and in the future.

Respectfully.  Steve Diaz

Woowhoo!

According to the Trib, the Act 1 Exemptions passed yesterday.

Later Wednesday night the House by a 99-98 margin approved an amendment from Rep. Seth Grove, R-York County, to tighten existing language in state law covering referenda. "It is designed to prevent property tax increases," said House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods.

What this means to Mt. Lebanon is that we cannot afford the High School Renovation without going to referendum. The School Board is stuck with the $75 million already borrowed + half the fund balance of $5 million + $5-10 million more borrowed without having to raise taxes over and above Act 1 limits, totaling $85-90 million.  The School Board needs to do some serious fundraising for those bike racks!!!  OR the School Board needs to come up with that $75 million plan almost 4,000 people asked for.  Somebody needs to tell the architect.

Read more: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_744554.html

Update July 2, 2011 Final 2011-12 Budget Printout

I think I touched a nerve.

Last Wednesday, I published this thread on the blog. A Referendum for School District Taxes?  Josephine Posti put this up yesterday on her Center Court blog. Act 1 Exceptions

Since the passage of Act 1 in 2006, 19 new senators and 99 new House members were elected. Many local school districts as well as PSBA believe that these new members have not had the benefit of the full public policy debate on school property tax reform. Our legislative liaison, Mrs. Birks, along with myself and other Board members have been talking to them about why the exceptions were created, and the impact of state and federal mandates and financial obligations on Mt. Lebanon's and other school districts' budgets, especially in light of significant cuts in state funding. If SB 911 or HB 1326 were signed into law, school districts who are now struggling to balance their budgets would face critical, long-term financial distress.

How can I say this politely? School Board members, including Mrs. Birks and Mrs. Posti, are trying to educate 19 new senators and 99 new House members? 

Mrs. Posti goes on to say that

The exceptions provided for under Act 1 are for mandated costs that are difficult for school boards to control, such as those for special education, pension costs, court or administrative orders, increasing enrollments, principal and interest on debt, emergencies and disaster response, and other costs. Additionally, there are no exceptions for state mandates such as cyber charter school costs and Prevailing Wage and Separations Acts.

I believe that the majority of taxpayers in Mt. Lebanon understand that there are costs that are difficult to control.  We get that. Perhaps the School Board will understand why almost 4,000 people signed a petition to cap the High School Renovation at $75 million. We could see the handwriting on the wall with pensions, reassessments, principal and interest on debt, etc.  The School Board has control over the cost of that project.  We have been saying all along that we will not be able to afford such an aggressive project.  Mrs. Posti talks about debt limits and yet, there are articles about what happens when government hits the debt ceiling.  We don't want to be there.  Let's consider working with what we have so that we will not have to worry about how we will fund pensions or special education. We have decreasing enrollment, so maybe those new senators and House members are on to something.

The Way Forward

The following letter, written by resident Steve Diaz, was sent to the School Board Directors on Apr 28, 2011 8:34 am.  It is being reprinted with Mr. Diaz' permission.

Members of the School Board:  In the midst of the din and disappointment over the bids received on "the new high school", it was a pleasure to see the board finally upset with its advisors, particularly Architect Celli, over the failure to accurately comprehend the likely range of project bids.  Most significant, to me, was the board president's cry that Mr. Celli's undisclosed list of 75 candidate reductions "should have been presented to the board a year ago."  Indeed they should.  But many suggestions from the CAC and others on such points were received by a stone ear, as the board was not really interested in such cuts.  One example arises in the LEEDS certification matter. This is a policy value of high significance in the community in Mt. Lebanon, one that was an essential element of the advocacy for the project (see your own brochure, written, printed and mailed to us at our own expense).  Now, Mr. Remely says that LEEDS certification is an easy take away--really?  The underlying issue with the effort to reform the bloated proposal that went out for bids (a rebuild, not a "renovation" project, if we are honest with ourselves) is that the credibility of the board is directly in issue. You seem to have lost your soul by suddenly now demanding answers to questions that you failed to address when the community, including a petition signed by 4,000 voters, asked you to do so. Question the LEEDS standards and the true returns for the cost?  That was deemed unreasonable and unacceptable by the board back during the Act 34 public hearings.  What else might be cut? The third gym? Mr. Remely went shouting after a Municipal Planning meeting that it was a mandatory element of the project to satisfy community demands.  The extra over-sized addition to the new pool?  Notwithstanding substantially decreasing student population trends, that has also been ridiculed as an absurd and miserly approach--the pool was even defended at the risk of not telling the truth when, contrary to published board policy, our superintendent told the Municipal Commission that parking was not in issue because the facility would definitely not be open to the public. Not tear down the newest building on campus?  This was also openly mocked when suggested to the board by the public on many occasions.  Given such items, what do you expect to see on Mr. Celli's obscure list of "75" reductions that might, at this time, have become acceptable (remember, you told the public that the project was as tight as it could be, with no fluff--again, see your own minutes, tapes of meetings, and your boastful brochure)?

The result of such behavior, your own unprompted but closely observed conduct and words, is that you seem to have slight regard for facts, and no actual plan or value other than spending as much money as you can without obtaining review from the voters. With such a decision process, no wonder you find yourselves confused and in disarray.  But on you push.  As Mr. Rothschild has insightfully observed, you cannot push on without completely re-scoping and re-conceiving the nature and the purpose of a "renovation."  It is time to show a modicum of humility and admit that the process has been badly mismanaged for a long time.  Admit that you have not listened to the people.  Admit that you may not be the right decision makers. Has it occurred to any of you who were so invested in the absolute correctness of the proposal that at this juncture you have had your turn at the wheel and perhaps it is time for you to voluntarily step down and allow new leadership to clean up and lead us forward?  Has it been worth all the damage and rift in this community you have caused by your intransigence, disrespect for public opinion and single-minded refusal to compromise, only to come to this juncture?  

It seems to me that a public apology is due from all of you to Mr. Fraasch for the manner in which you treated him.  It seems to me that a clear sign of new-found respect for the petition of 4,000 of your neighbors and constituents is also in order.  It also seems to me that any self-respecting board member with a sense of shame should be willing, publicly and voluntarily, to accept personal responsibility for what you and your policies have done.  Don't look to blame others, chosen by you in the first instance, for your own failures in formulating and achieving successful public policy.  Show true leadership and some measure of maturity---you have not succeeded, don't keep doing that which has not worked for any of us.  

Respectfully.  Steve Diaz