Who's running?

Just putting it out there...

If candidates running for School Board or Commission would like to have bios published here on lebocitizens.blogspot.com, send it to me at EGillen476@aol.com. I can post jpg or png files directly onto the blog. If you have a Word document, I can copy and paste it to the blog. If you have a pdf file, I will have to link it to a Google Doc.

MLRC, how many do you have lined up?

Next year is an important year for electing school board directors. There are five seats (the majority) opening up in the next MLSD school board election. The only Republican (Al Frioni) on the school board was appointed, not elected. The Republicans, however, did vote for Elaine Cappucci, a Democrat whose ticket included two Republicans.

Mt. Lebanon Democrats have five, solid candidates lined up for next year's Primary. Already. Mt. Lebanon Republicans, how many do you have lined up? Do you have any? You might want to start thinking about that. No rush.

Meanwhile,
Predictions getting better for Lamb as House Democrats poised to make gains in PA

Candidates Forum for Mt. Lebanon School Board UPDATED

Forum for Mt. Lebanon School Board candidates has been scheduled.

Thursday, October 26, 2017* 

7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM)

Jefferson Elementary School Auditorium
11 Moffett Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15243

Co-sponsored by Mt. Lebanon PTA Council and League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh. This is a non-partisan event. Free and open to the public. Please pass this announcement on to other Mt. Lebanon voters.

*The original announcement was for Tuesday, October 24. Thanks for catching that, Jason!

Add it up

The yard signs for November's election are starting to pop up. In my opinion, the school board race is the most critical.

 

Consider who is asking for more transparency in the Post-Gazette's Debate continues over Mt. Lebanon schools' capital campaign. Mike Riemer and Stephen Strotmeyer

Who have been to known to make personal attacks, roll their eyes, and be disrespectful toward their colleagues and inquiring residents? Birks, Cappucci, and Remely

Who is under investigation with the PA Ethics Commission? Birks

Who had to resign because of the nepotism policy and for the hiring of her son, a Mt. Lebanon School District teacher? Cappucci

Who is running to replace herself on the school board? Cappucci

Who hired Timmy? Cappucci and Remely

Who was part of the team that negotiated the current Act 93 agreement for our District administrators (Jan Klein)?  Cappucci

Who is a Century of Excellence Capital Campaign chair who originally claimed that $1.5 million were raised, but then back peddled when we learned that the campaign had more expenditures than revenue and pledges combined. Her bio now claims that "the Campaign has raised nearly $1 million." Caste

Which candidates are endorsed by their political committees? Riemer, Strotmeyer, Diamond

Which incumbents were excluded from the Timmy Ticket? Mike Riemer and Stephen Strotmeyer

Whose yard sign is going in my yard?

Aaugh!!! UPDATED

I can't get on any sites for election results. I received a text that Bob Lee lost, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

I understand that Mary Birks is completely out. Mike Riemer finished first. So far, that's all I know.

Sorry that this post is in piecemeal.

Try this site for County results:
http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/PA/Allegheny/68994/Web02/#/

It looks like Cappucci won the 2 year term on the R ballot, and Riemer won the 2 year term on the D ballot.

Total votes (adding both R & D)

Cappucci 2194

Riemer 2642

Diamond 2270

Strotmeyer 2423

Caste 2038

Remely 1588

DePlato was only on the R ballot with 328 votes.

On the Dem ballot for 4 years: 

Riemer 

Diamond

Strotmeyer

Cappucci

On the Rep ballot for 4 years:

Caste

Cappucci

Remely

Riemer

Here are the updated unofficial results. The County has to certify the absentee ballots in the next week or so.

I do know that Mt. Lebanon voted yes for the commissioners to raise taxes. Shaking my head.

Update May 17, 2017 5:04 PM The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission received additional information concerning my complaint against Elaine Cappucci this morning at 10:41.

Disheartening news

I received some disheartening news this morning from a reliable source that Durwood Hill has dropped out of the school board director race. He was the only one who was getting my vote. Four seats. Four candidates. So that means there is no reason to vote. Meet our new school board directors:

Incumbent Mary Birks
Incumbent Dan Remely
Mike Riemer
Bill Moorhead

Final weekend before the Primary and Special Election

I was considering having another poll about the candidates, but since the Blogger poll gadget is so unreliable, I thought it would be better to allow readers to write about their choice of candidates.

If you attended the 42nd Pennsylvania House District candidates forum at the Bethel Municipal Building, or listened to the podcast on Lebo Citizens, who do you think made the best overall presentation?

George Brown - Libertarian
Dan Miller - Democrat
Dan Remely - Republican

If you want to sign your name, great. If you choose to remain anonymous, that is your right.

Who are you supporting in the Special Election? Just say why you are supporting your candidate without trashing any of the others. No negative comments. Who should win the Special Election?  

Care to comment about the County Council race between Krista Harris and Sue Means? I would like to hear some good, solid facts. No fluff. Who deserves our vote?

Finally, not much of a choice, but if you have something positive to say about the school board candidates, now is your chance. 

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday.

"Thank you for your interest in our community schools."

Even though these comments were submitted under another post, I believe they deserve their own space on this blog. The following comments were submitted by Richard Gideon under Primary and Special Election News UPDATED:

Blog Readers:
In regards to the question of whether I asked the other candidates the same 14 questions I posed to Mr. Hill, the answer is that I sent the questions to Mr. Riemer recently and received the following reply:

"Council PTA has compiled a list of questions for the school board candidates. Please visit the website and review the responses.

Thank you for your interest in our community schools."

Replies from Mr. Moorehead are still pending. I did not ask these questions of Ms. Birks or Mr. Remely, as their positions are well known.

Although Mr. Hill answered only four of my 14 questions for reasons that he has delineated in an earlier post in this thread, I give him high marks for being willing to address the remaining questions in a face-to-face meeting (I forgot to ask him if he has Skype! - that would solve the face-to-face issue).

Addendum:
The list of PTA questions and candidates' responses referenced by Mr. Riemer may be found here: http://www.mtlsd.org/district/districtpta/schoolboardcandidatesqanda.asp

How disappointing.  Mike Riemer will be a perfect fit on the school board. Don't answer our questions. Instead, give the Cappucci response.  "Check the district website for answers." Nice.

OK, so I read the responses to the PTA's questions in the link provided by Richard Gideon. What a joke. Mary Birks forgot to include how she rolls her eyes at Scott Goldman whenever he expresses his opinion.  Riemer thinks we have a very lean budget already. It is not clear to me what he means by reviewing the drug and alcohol policy. Does he want to change that? The PTA question was, "Do you have any specific changes you want to make to school district policies..."

So who are the officers on PTA Council?   


2012-2013 Officers

President
Sheryl Cohen
skccreations@aol.com

1st Vice President
Julie Maselko
themaselkos@gmail.com

2nd Vice President
Sara Dougherty
tjdsjd@verizon.net

3rd Vice President/Superintendent
Dr. Timothy Steinhauer
tsteinhauer@mtlsd.net

Treasurer
Jennie Bhojwani
jenniebhoj@hotmail.com

Recording Secretary
Teresa Saxton
4saxtons@comcast.net

Corresponding Secretary
Julie Daubner
geo.mom@verizon.net

Historian
Hannah Vaughn
hvaughan@mac.com


2013-2014 Elected Officers

President
Julie Daubner
geo.mom@verizon.net

1st Vice President
Sara Dougherty
tjdsjd@verizon.net

2nd Vice President
Julie Maselko
themaselkos@gmail.com

3rd Vice President/Superintendent
Dr. Timothy Steinhauer
tsteinhauer@mtlsd.net

Treasurer
Jennie Bhojwani
jenniebhoj@hotmail.com

Recording Secretary
Teresa Saxton
4saxtons@comcast.net

Corresponding Secretary
Julie Smith
juliejsmith23@hotmail.com

Historian
Hannah Vaughn
hvaughan@mac.com


Just an FYI, President Sheryl Cohen was Josephine Posti's campaign treasurer when Jo ran with Rob Gardner. President Elect Julie Daubner is Elaine Cappucci's sister. Ms. Daubner went from 2012-13 Corresponding Secretary to 2013-14 President.  Interesting.

Candidates Forum update

I pulled together a nonpartisan committee, in efforts to sponsor our own forum. A meeting room was reserved; however, since the candidates have not shown any interest, the reservation will be canceled on Monday.

The committee felt that the current crop of cronies have nothing to gain by it. They are all on the same page and there is nobody with a substantially different educational outlook to challenge them. Why would they subject themselves to hard questions when they feel they don't have to?

Since this is only a primary election for school board directors, a lot could change in time for the General Election. This would give Independents a chance to step forward and challenge the status quo.

Many thanks go to the committee. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Primary and Special Election News UPDATED

The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a debate for the 42nd State House District special election. It will be held on May 15, 2013, 7 PM, at the Bethel Municipal Building. If you have questions for George Brown, Dan Miller, or Dan Remely, this is your opportunity to submit questions. All questions submitted that evening will be subject to the approval of the League of Women Voters moderator(s).

Finally, some news about the school board race! The League of Women Voters will be sponsoring a "Meet the Candidates" night at Jefferson Middle School on May 8, 2013 at 7 PM. Again, you can submit questions on index cards which will be subject to the approval of the League of Women Voters moderators.     [Note: Event has been canceled. See update below.]

It is been an extremely quiet race for school board. Dan Remely is running alone, but there is a slate for the four remaining candidates.  Their website is here. I received an email this morning about one of the candidates, Durwood Hill.

Durwood Hill is running for school board and kicking off his campaign with a series of community meetings. These are intended to be informal and honest conversations. Attached is a flyer with meeting information, hope you are able to join Durwood at one of these times. Also, please feel free to pass along to other community members, especially friends and family outside the Lincoln area.


Durwood is running as part of a slate (http://www.leboeie.com/durwood-hill/); however, these meetings are set up by Durwood alone. If you have any questions, you can contact me at montoyase@verizon.net.

When I met Durwood, I told him that I would never vote for Mary Birks and that I really didn't know anything about him. I promised that I would share his information here on Lebo Citizens. I am glad to see that he is reaching out to the community.

Update April 30, 2013 11:00 AM The Candidate's Forum scheduled for May 8, 2013 has been canceled. It is my understanding that the PTA canceled the forum due to lack of interest. In its place, the school board candidates will provide written responses to a uniform set of questions and the responses will be posted online.
In addition, Durwood Hill asked me to share this with Lebo Citizens readers:

I took a look at the blog and it probably should be noted that, while friends of mine organized the events, I am running with a slate of candidates and they all plan to attend some of the events. I will be at every event and will be accompanied by various members of our slate.

So, who is running?

According to the Allegheny County Division of Elections, here is the slate:

For Commission:

    Ward 2 Steve Silverman (D)
                  Jack Doyle (R)

    Ward 4 Dave Brumfield (D)
                  Samantha Scrivner (R)

All School Board Candidates crossfiled. 5 Candidates for 4 seats:

    Mary Birks
    Durwood Hill
    Bill Moorhead
    Dan Remely
    Mike Riemer

Primary is May 21.

It's Your Turn

In Mt. Lebanon, candidates are needed for Wards 2 and 4 on the Commission side while four seats for School Board are opening up.  The first day to obtain signatures for candidates' nomination petitions is February 19, 2013.   In addition, the GOP is looking to fill Vince Gastgeb's seat.

I received this timely letter to the editor from a former elected official who would like to remain anonymous.

It's Your Turn

In local politics everything is personal. All decisions at this level of government affect our children's education, our traffic patterns, our First Friday's, the quality of the streets on which we drive. Local officials also determine the levels of income and property tax we pay to our school district and municipality.

These decisions impact each and every one of us every day. That's why I am hoping that more of us take these issues personally.

It's personal when my home appraisal goes up 50% but my neighbor who bought their house at the same price as mine is underassessed by 30%. It's personal for some people when a Commission decides to let high powered rifles be fired literally feet from our homes. It's personal for parents when their children are being taught a math curriculum with which they disagree.

So here is my challenge to the everyday residents of Mt. Lebanon. If you get the sense that things are a bit off kilter and that you might have some ideas on how to change local government for the better, then consider a run for school board or commission.

Run if you think math needs to change,
Or if it makes you feel deranged.

Run if you want to shoot deer with high powered rifle
Run if you want deer over for after-dinner trifle

If you think the school board is competent
Or if you think the board is incontinent
RUN!

If you want to fill our fields full of plastic
or if you think that kind of money is too drastic,
RUN!

Whether you want things to be the same
Or you just want someone else to blame
RUN!

Don't sit down and let people question
"Why only these same people up for election?"

Ten signatures gets you on the primary ballot
At times you may feel as if struck by a mallet

But the rewards of lifelong friendships are great
The people you meet and affect will appreciate

That you spend all your spare time
Trying to save them that dime.

February 19th comes quick
Give me somebody new to pick!

Go to the County Elections Page
And just maybe you will become all the rage!

http://www.alleghenycounty.us/elect/cal.aspx

Kids, pay no attention to what is happening on PTA.

Just a week before this apology was written, PTA Apologizes to Cannon, the PTA Council president's home was busted for underage drinking.  Twelve high school students were arrested. http://pd.mtlebanon.org/blotter/police-blotter-111011-111611.pdf
So how many PTA resignations are in order now?  I am counting two, but the numbers seem to grow every day.  Karen Morris, Hoover president for circulating an eblast about the school board candidates. Now the Council president for underage drinking in her home.
Just a side note, she was also treasurer for This Way Forward, the Posti/Gardner campaign. Word on the street is that it was Josephine who wrote the nasty email about her brother, but that is just a rumor.  We do know that Josephine isn't good about citing her sources. 
Not a very good example for our kids. But, hey, I'm not the child advocate or so I have been told.

This post is for those who voted for Cannon and write-in candidates.

Even though I was not part of the committee, I do want to thank you for trying to make a difference. People aren't interested in cleaning house.  It is obvious by the poor response to my Dress 4 Work plea; we are living in a community filled with have's, not have nots, and are clueless as to how bad it is for some folks.  The Voice signs have finally come down. Now, we are just waiting for the bids to be opened on Pearl Harbor Day. How ironic.

Real estate agents are standing by, waiting to plant "For Sale" signs.  A real estate agent told me that this morning.  When I was canvassing Ward 3 during the Primary, there were many Republicans on my list who moved, were moving, or were thinking about moving. 

I was hoping the Election would have turned out differently. Maintaining a blog and website is time consuming and costly, but my work would have been done after the Election. I guess not.  I will continue to hold our elected officials' feet to the fire.  I hope you do the same.  Thanks again.

Elaine

The polls open in less than thirty minutes.

The time has come to elect the Mt. Lebanon School Board. You now have more choices for the Mt. Lebanon School Board since others have entered the race through a write-in campaign. If you support the write-in campaign, please take this handout to the polls. Whatever you decide, please vote today!

School Board candidate Joseph Wertheim writes:

I have been a resident of Mt. Lebanon for 25 years. My father-in-law, my wife and my son all graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School. I am currently serving my second term as a Trustee of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library and I am President of the Friends of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library. I have been actively involved for many years with the South Hills Food Pantry, which serves needy residents in Mt. Lebanon and neighboring communities. I am a graduate of George Washington University with a degree in political science and am a retired financial advisor.

Over the years I have attended many school board meetings. School board members must be responsible for the welfare of the students and the welfare of the community. The school board must exercise fiscal discipline. Renovation of the elementary schools came in far over budget, and it appears that we are on the same path with the proposed high school renovation. There is a consensus within Mt Lebanon that the high school needs to be renovated. The current board chose to ignore advice offered by the Community Advisory Committee and they continue to support building plans that far exceed what is necessary to provide our children with a first class education. The current board hired an architect with limited experience in designing educational facilities, moved forward without a well- defined budget and promised that bids would come in well below projections. When the bids far exceeded expectations the board eliminated many areas previously proclaimed to be absolutely necessary. The Mt Lebanon School Board needs fresh vision that will serve both the students and the taxpayers.

School Board Candidate Paula Bongiorno writes:

I am Paula Bongiorno.  The time and effort I have contributed to this community stands on its own. I am a 35 year resident, who has spent half of that time being very involved with school issues.  I cannot begin to count the hundreds and hundreds of school board meetings I attended - often being the sole member of the public present.  Since 1994, some very constructive ideas have been given to the board by myself and other members of the public.  We are now gradually seeing some of these ideas coming to fruition.  The history and knowledge I bring to the table is unmatched by anyone on the board or any of the other candidates

I have always been a strong proponent of the best education for our students along with as much public input as possible. Anyone who has gone to school board meetings, watched televised meetings, listened to podcasts or has been involved with the school district knows this.  This is why I decided to run on the write-in campaign of James Cannon.  Rudy, Charlotte and Joe all have lived in Mount Lebanon for years and have been personally involved with school issues. The combination of this team would bring new dimension to the school board - a dimension to the table that is sadly needed in many areas.

It is time for real change and the four of us will do it: Rudy Bies, Charlotte Stephenson, Joseph Wertheim and Paula Bongiorno.  We need your write-in vote, please vote.

Paula Bongiorno

The Curious Case for Kubit

I received this email and thought I would share it with you.  Just an FYI, Mr. Kubit isn't getting my vote.

 

The Curious Case for Kubit

 

I have seen the yard signs in the lawns of some of the most staunch Republican supporters and, as a Republican myself, I struggle to see how it is that true Republicans can support this individual for re-election.  For each of the tenets of the Republican party, I fail to see where Mr. Kubit holds the line.

 

Let's first address the idea of fiscal restraint.  Mr. Kubit has yet to vote against any of the tax raising school district budgets in the last three budget cycles.  During his election year (2007), the Mt Lebanon School District millage rate stood at 23.56 or $2,356 per $100,000 of assessed home value.  Since he has been elected, he has raised taxes to 23.81 in 2008,  24.11 in 2009 and finally, in the year he was actually the President of the Board, he raised taxes to 26.63 in 2010. This is a 13% tax increase in just three budgets.  That is three tax increases in three years.  And this during financially trying times for many families in Mt. Lebanon who either live on fixed incomes or who have had trouble staying employed during our recent economic turmoil.

In each of these budgets one must remember that the school district has continued to lose student population to the tune of hundreds of students.  But, instead of reducing staff to account for the reductions in students, the District continued to add staff while Mr. Kubit was on the Board.  This is not fiscal fitness, this is fiscal insanity!  As was written on another school directors' blog, just as you would expect to add staff during population booms, Boards must learn how to trim staff during population declines.

Next, let me talk a little bit about leadership.  During Mr. Kubit's year as President of the Board, he voted consistenly in favor of a high school project budget in excess of $113 million. In fact, one can easily argue that Mr. Kubit used his position as school board president to cheerlead the project even while the community at large consistently voiced very strong and loud opposition.  He even sent out a taxpayer funded FAQ to the community that argued in favor of the project. Mr Kubit cheerfully announced in the FAQ that he expected bids for the project to come in 17-25% below the budget HE VOTED IN FAVOR OF.  He wrote the following:

 

"The maximum cost would be $113,274,265. However, this does not take into account that bids on recent construction projects came in 17 to 25% below original estimates. Additionally we are working with our architects and construction manager to find waysto further reduce the cost through value engineer."

 

Well, the results of Mr. Kubit's leadership are in and, instead of coming in 17-25% below estimates, the project bids came in more than 25% OVER budget.  This is a total swing of $42 MILLION DOLLARS OVER BUDGET while following Mr. Kubit's lead.  The mess he has left us means more months of delay and more wasted taxpayer money while the Board cleans up the mess.  Here we are more than 9 months later and we are still waiting for the next round of bids for a cheapened high school project that likely will not include everything that was promised to the community for the large price tag.

 

When it came to approving material that was appropriate for curriculum, Mr. Kubit stayed eerily silent while Michael Mann's famous propaganda about Global Warming was approved.  Two directors asked that the Superintendent ensure that there was a competing view to the alarmist one supported by Michael Mann.  The Superintendent agreed and made sure that the two directors demand for balance was met. It takes real leadership to know when to say no and Mr. Kubit voiced no opposition and stayed silent while voting in favor of the text

 

Next I want to tackle community involvement.  While it is true that the community has been involved on multiple levels with this project, it was ignored when it mattered most. In December 2009, the school board heard from a group of design and construction professionals. This group was called the Community Advisory Committee on the high school project. These engineers and architects met for many weeks going over plans for the high school. At the conclusion of their meetings they presented a list of items that the Board should follow in order to improve the design of the high school and also to reduce costs of the project.  One of the items suggested was to hire an Owner's Representative to help the school board understand the drawings and implications of design changes on the project.  Outside of usinga Single Prime contractor (which the Board was going to do anyway) the Board ignored every one of the suggestions of the CAC.  Some of the suggestion included the owner's rep (which would have lowered costs), relocating the loading dock (which would have improved design and lowered costs), and renovating the largest building on the campus to accomodate 21st Century learning (which would have saved easily $10 million).  So, while the community was involved through the CAC, under Mr. Kubit, its advice was completely ignored. 

 

Additionally under the topic of community involvement goes the State's Act 34 process.  Act 34 gives the public a chance to speak its mind about high cost construction projects. In fact, it is called "The Taj Mahal Act".  During this process the community is asked to send emails, letters, and other correspondence to the Board.  Once all the documents were collected from the public, a single Director asked the Board (including Mr. Kubit) to tally all of the emails,letters, and signatures that were gathered as part of the process to determine where the community stood on this project.  Despite various polls (including a professional poll done by the Republican Committee of Mt. Lebanon) showing that the great majority of the community supported a project cost between $69 and $90 million, Mr. Kubit ignored the request of the Director to tally the Board's own results to gauge community interest in a $113+ million project.  Instead of directing the central office staff to do this, he simply moved on to the next item on the agenda.  Why would he have done this unless he already knew the results would show something he, as the grand cheerleader, did not want to announce to the public.  A true leader would have accepted the Act 34 documents and, in order to reassure the community of the tact the Board was taking, would have tallied the results and announced them to the community.  What we got instead was silence.

 

Finally, lets talk about open government.  Good government is an open and honest government.  As President, Mr. Kubit was tasked to meet with the Muncipality on matters pertinent to both the Commission and School Board. However, these meetings stopped for good once it was mentioned that the Municipal leadership wanted to have these Joint Steering meetings in public with members of the community allowed to be engaged in the process.  Instead of agreeing to these open meetings, Mr. Kubit simply stopped going.  The Joint Meetings ceased to exist under Mr. Kubit's presidency on the school board.

 

Also under this tab, we must not forget in Mr. Kubit's FAQ the completely made up projected enrollment statistics used to justify the scope and size of the high school project.  When asked where he got the enrollment projections from, Mr. Kubit pointed to someone in the central office.  When that person was asked where she received her information for the 20-year enrollment projections, she pointed to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  When following the trail to the PDE, it was found that NO SUCH INFORMATION EXISTED!  Instead of a mea culpa, we received a belated answer about how there was some confusion between the enrollment projections and how the school project bond reimbursement was calculated.  If it seems like those two items are completely unrelated, its because they ARE completely unrelated.  The District simply fabricated an enrollment number to try to help their case for an expensive, over-sized high school project.  And once caught in the lie, they made something up again to cover it up.  Mr. Kubit could have put a stop to this but again stayed silent.

 

If I am going to vote for a school board candidate, especially a Republican one, I want to make sure I can count on that person to lead, to be fiscally conservative, and to support open government even when it is not convenient.  On all of these counts Mr. Kubit has failed. It is my intent to leave Mr. Kubit's name off my ballot when I vote on November 8th.  I would urge fellow Republicans to do the same. We need to show the community that we support Republicans who act like Republicans and not Republicans that ask for our help only to give us all a bad name through their selfish actions.

School Board Candidate Rudy Bies responds to PTA Questions

PTA Questions to School Board Candidates

By Rudy Bies   Nov. 5, 2011

Recently the PTA requested that School Board candidates respond to various questions.

At the time of the PTA request, I was not a candidate for School Board.  It was just days ago that I was asked if I was willing to have my name submitted for a write in campaign. Accordingly, I am responding now for the purpose of giving a reader some idea if I was someone that may be more representative of their viewpoint; and accordingly, be someone that was more worthy of their vote.

1. Please list your education, occupation and other background and how that qualifies you to be a school director.

I graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School.  I have a degree in accounting, minor in economics.  I am a CPA and one of five owners of an accounting firm.  Served on four corporate boards including a non- profit organization. Served as president of two companies that either I started or co founded and served in the United States Army.  I have spent my life assisting others in improving their business as well as financial and economic counseling.

2. What do you think is the best way to resolve differences with School Board members and how do you approach working with members who don’t share you view of a project?

Differences are not always resolved.  If you have passion for a position, make your position known.  Do the obvious, research that which can be researched, present the facts, have an honest debate, work with others with the knowledge that their opinions are also valuable.  Listen and maybe others will see my point or maybe I will see their point.

3. What do you believe is the School Board’s role is in the operation of the School District?

The School Board is a Board – they need to set or change policy when the paid administration has conflict or are performing poorly.  An administration needs the freedom and an operating environment in order to succeed and a School Board should allow that administration to do just that.   Balanced, of course, with the responsibility that a flawed administration is simply unacceptable and school boards must take appropriate action.

4. What are your primary objectives if elected?  If any of them require additional funding, how will they be paid for?

The High School Project needs completed.  I don’t think it is unfair to say that it has taken too long.  The School Board should provide to each member of the community two, maybe three different high school renovation plans in March 2012. The plans should contain enough detail and reasonable cost estimates so that those who care enough to vote could do so in a May 2012 referendum.  This is a major expenditure

with significant issues.  There is no reason to formally exclude the public from the process.  Issues of this magnitude should not simply be decided on by a nine member Board, but should be decided based upon the desire of the community.

The education system tends to teach subjects.  I’d like to see us do a better job of preparing our children for life.  A lack of knowledge in practical economics affects how we vote and of course, how we vote affects the outcome of our country.  If you would like examples of what I mean, please read on, otherwise, skip to the next question.

Do our schools teach students how to buy a car or a house?  Are we even taught when we need an attorney or an accountant?  Are we taught the importance of reading and understanding mortgage and other loan documents?  Are we taught how to prepare a basic income tax return?   Are we taught how to balance a checking account, the importance of saving, and just some the fundamentals of investing?  Does the education system prepare us to understand what is discussed by our elected officials?  What destroys a nation’s currency?  Price controls, tariffs, speculators, commodities markets, and quantitative easing (QE 1 and QE 2) – are these good or bad?  

The fundamental and traditional roles of our Schools are obviously important –

but we do need more.  I’d like us to prepare our students so that the students and our Country are better.

5.  Do you have any specific changes you want to make to School District policies, programs or curricula.  If so – what and why?

I have outlined quite a bit with my answer in the above question.  The implementation is important to me.  The teacher of such a program has to be passionate about the importance of being prepared for life.  It should be a class that is so sought after that we struggle to find individuals that share the passion of

preparing our children for the life that awaits them.

6.  What impact do you think Dr. Steinhauer’s recent administration re-organization will have on student achievement?

Don’t know.  It is done.  So let’s see how it works.  No reason to second guess at this point.

7.  How have the recent state budget cuts directly impacted Mt. Lebanon schools?

Obviously schools are impacted.  Larger funding cuts are likely.  The exact and future impact will resonate probably for years to come.  Look to Washington D.C., the Super Committee, annual budget deficits of 1.5 trillion, a National Debt of almost 15 trillion, these are very difficult times.  Our Nation’s severe fiscal problems will affect states, municipalities, and all of us.  We have enjoyed the benefits of borrowed money for too long.  Will we respond quickly?  Do we even realize the extreme severity of the problem?

8.  Do you support vouchers and/or school choice legislation.  What effects would such legislation have on the district budget and programming?

It is still America.  Who am I to deny you the right to choose what you believe is best for your children?  Could this have an adverse consequence?  Sure – at first, but the end result is competition.  Last time I played any competitive sport, I never saw anyone who was worse off because of competition.

9.  What cost saving measures do you support and what types of effect would they have on the district?

I am going to combine my answer for 9 and 10 – so see below.

10.  What possible revenue generating measures for the district would you support and why?

We need legislative action from the Pennsylvania Legislature.  So not our problem?  Wrong!  The following are problems for all of us.  We must do all we can to meaningfully address issues like school district pensions, the student to teacher classroom ratio, the teachers’ contract, and whether school districts should use real estate taxes as the major source of tax revenue.  We need to adopt something that is fairer, especially for those that are retired and now may not be able to keep their homes because of rising real estate taxes. 

A unified position statement by James Cannon, Paula Bongiorno, Rudy Bies, Charlotte Stephenson, and Joseph Wertheim

The Mt. Lebanon School Board Candidates

November 4, 2011

A unified position statement by James Cannon, Paula Bongiorno, Rudy Bies,

Charlotte Stephenson, and Joseph Wertheim

We must remember what happened over 200 years ago when people pledged their honor, their personal savings and their very lives so that we could have a government of the people, by the people and once again for the people.

Public Servants should do their best, serve and go home. We can debate the length of the term, but multiple political terms all too often affect communities adversely.

Whether it is Washington, Harrisburg, the City of Pittsburgh or Mt. Lebanon, spending must be controlled at all levels of government.  As a nation, we simply cannot continue to borrow and spend.  Our Country has almost 15 trillion dollars of debt.  If meaningful action is not taken, our debt will exceed 25 trillion in less than ten years.  The interest on that amount of debt could easily exceed the total annual federal tax revenue.  The money in the Social Security Trust Fund is incapable of sustaining the demand for the participants future needs because it has been spent.  If this position does not change then the U.S Dollar will decline. 

So what does this have to do with the Mt. Lebanon School District?  Simply put, difficult financial decisions must be made to avoid future financial problems.

The following information, taken from the School District web site, is important for you to know.

                                                                                2001                    2010          

    

Total School District Expenditures                   $50,819,000           $76,621,000

Annual Revenue from Real Estate Taxes          $34,466,000           $51,697,000

Annual Cost per Pupil                                           $8,960                   $14,451

At current cost levels, a High School Diploma will cost $173,412.

The School District borrowed $69 million in October of 2009.  This money was to be used for the High School Project.  How many of us would borrow money to build a home, and allow more than two years to pass before beginning construction? What bank would even loan the money to us?  

Early in 2010 the School Board, explaining certain aspects of the High School project, mailed a glossy brochure to the residents. We believe that our residents deserve a more cost-effective alternative based on more accurate enrollment statistics than those presented.

We believe the School Board should consider an alternative to the high school renovation plans.  The plans should contain enough detail and reasonable cost estimates so that those who care enough to vote could do so in a May 2012 referendum.  This is a major expenditure with significant issues that affect every person and business in Mt. Lebanon.  There is no reason to formally exclude anyone in Mt. Lebanon from the process.  Projects of this magnitude should be decided based upon the desire of the entire community.

Many difficult issues face our school district which will require legislative action from the Pennsylvania Legislature.  We must do all that we can to address these issues such as adopting a taxation model that is more fair, especially for those who are retired and now may not be able to keep their homes because of rising real estate taxes. 

School Boards have responsibilities to the students, the teachers, local government and most importantly, they must always function with a deep respect for the public.

If you care, please vote.  If you like the current situation and feel no concern for our community’s future economic stability, elect the incumbents.  If you want a School Board that is willing to do their best in consideration of these various issues we will soon face as a community, in addition to selecting James Cannon on the ballot, please write-in the names of the four candidates, Paula Bongiorno, Rudy Bies, Charlotte Stephenson, and Joseph Wertheim.  All five have similar motivations for running, and all five have their own individual reasons. Feel free to reach out to each before Tuesday, November 8th.

Their contact information is as follows:

James Cannon, jcannon2011@verizon.net

Rudy Bies
Charlotte Stephenson, stephensoncs@verizon.net

Joseph Wertheim, jhwertheim@aol.com

Paula Bongiorno, genpau@aol.com

Thank You!