"24 Hour Reserved" for Timmy

Student Parking is Back!

Student parking is available in the following areas: South Parking Lot (upper practice field side only), Commissioners' Parking Lot (School District designated spaces only), and Dixon Field Parking Lot. Students are NOT permitted to park inside the stadium fence. Please note that the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church Parking Lot is no longer being used for student parking.

All campus roads are open. Adhere to all traffic and parking signage. Do not park in "24 hour reserved" or otherwise marked "reserved" or "no parking" spaces/areas on the campus. Students and visitors are not permitted to park inside the stadium fence. Vehicles will be ticketed and may be towed.

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There is a school board meeting on Monday, but the agenda was never posted. I emailed the school board about Monday's agenda, but it is doubtful that Mary Birks will respond. She is a little cranky these days. Typically, when the agenda is late, it is a sign that Timmy is getting his contractual raise and a bonus for some bizarre reason. Maybe he is getting recognized for retweeting Dr. Ron Davis' tweets, certainly not for having an original thought.

The Parking Chair

Josephine Posti reports on her blog that "Students have been observing parking and walking restrictions." We did have a recommendation made by a Lebo Citizens blog reader for residents on Main Entrance.  They should resort to using "The Parking Chair." This would eliminate any "issues" concerning parking on side streets.



Photo by Jennifer Ciroli

I am not sure that is necessary [or legal], particularly since Jo Posti's relatives on Main Entrance said that everything was good in the 'hood when this all started.

While I was looking up some school policies, I stumbled upon this policy, Policy ECE TRAFFIC AND PARKING REGULATIONS. I advise parents to read this, especially those who use Hoover for football practice.

The speed limit for all vehicles on all school property, including parking lots, streets, roadways and play areas, is 15 miles per hour. No vehicles (other than District authorized vehicles) are permitted on tracks, ball fields, lawns or District property other than roadways and parking areas.

Just last week, a car was parked on the field. The person who observed this found it ironic since the sports groups complain about the condition of our fields.

Another point of interest is:

Student vehicles parked on District property are subject to search by the District and/or law enforcement authorities at any time for any reason, with or without notice. General and random searches (including canine sniff searches) are authorized. Students should have no expectation of privacy as to vehicles on District property. Parking is a privilege, not a right, and student parking permits will be issued only where students and/or parents consent to such searches. Refusal to cooperate in such searches may result in loss of parking privileges as well as disciplinary action.

This raises some questions in my mind. Are student vehicles subject to search by the District and/or law enforcement authorities at the Mt. Lebanon Lutheran Church or municipal parking, such as Dixon? Now that the students have to pay for parking, is it still a privilege? We still are not sure about the District's right to enforce anything on municipal parking lots, are we? Are they allowed to charge for student parking on municipal lots?

I recommend that the Policy Committee review Policy ECE after they cook the books, I mean, review the policies concerning "Purchasing Authority" and "Construction Contracts, Bidding and Awards."

High School Renovation Update? UPDATED 2x

Now that school is back in session, I would love to get feedback from parents or high school students about the high school renovation. How is the student parking situation? How about those generators?  Are they noisy? How is the construction going? I haven't seen much activity around the athletic wing.  Anything going on there?

The School District has posted this reminder on their website. Traffic and Parking Reminders for Football Home Opener

The Mt. Lebanon High School football team kicks off their season with a home opener on Friday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. against North Allegheny. We look forward to a great crowd at the game to cheer on the Blue Devils and would like to share some information to help you navigate the changes around the stadium due to construction.

Update August 30, 2012 5:39 PM I guess this is the District's response as written in today's PG story, "Mt. Lebanon High School renovation continues despite power outage."

School officials said despite this, the 31/2-year project is on schedule. The future athletic center is showing the most growth, as structural steel was erected in that building this summer, Mr. Steinhauer said.

Athletic Wing 8/30/12



Science Wing 8/13/12

He said the athletic center was among his favorite parts of the project "because you can really start to see progress."

Update September 2, 2012 4:00 PM Athletic wing after yesterday's rainstorm. Pooling along the back half again.

Athletic Wing 9/2/12 4:00 PM

Excuse me, but when did MTLSD take over the Municipality? UPDATED

From the Mt. Lebanon School District website: 

"Student parking is available in the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church Parking Lot and Dixon Field Parking Lot on a first-come, first served basis until paid permits are required on September 10."

Excuse me, but I'll park at Dixon whenever I please and suggest the students do the same and do not pay for a permit. The district has no authority to enforce and collect fees from students or anyone else that choose to park in a municipal lot. Who will be issuing tickets and how will they know if I'm in the Rec Center, the park, or the tennis courts and not a student parking my car? If the commissioners have somehow transferred control of the Dixon lot to the school district, when did this occur?

While I am on the subject of student parking and traffic patterns at the high school, the Campus Traffic Map indicates that we must make an illegal left turn into the North lot.

August 27, 2012 2:00 PM: Through a RTK, here is the Amended Church Parking Agreement signed by Timothy Steinhauer and Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church, where Timothy Steinhauer is a member.

Follow up on my high school parking suggestion

At last night's Commission meeting, I had questioned if we could have students park in the school parking lot while teachers and staff park at the Mt. Lebanon Lutheran Church lot.  Dave Brumfield had heard that there were some obligations to the teachers that would not permit that.  Sorry, Dave, if I didn't quote you exactly.  I sent the commissioners links to the teachers' contract that I have posted on lebocitizens.com.  I have two links on my website, under The Facts, since one copy on the District website had a handwritten date on page 5 of the pdf of the CBA, while the other link had an undated copy on page 5 of the CBA pdf.

http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/2009/collectivebargainingagreement.pdf

http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/2009/cba.pdf

I emailed the Collective Bargaining Agreement to the Commissioners last night and received this response from President Brumfield this morning.

Elaine,
Under any CBA, like the teachers contract conditions of employment cannot be unilaterally changed by the employer without the negotiated consent of the union.  The courts have held that such changes can constitute a grievance.  I apologize for giving the misleading shorter answer, the fact is the SD labor counsel should vigorously warn against taking the steps you recommended.
Dave

Thanks for clarifying that, Dave. I wish we could try.  You never know until you do.

Update 01 25 12 A resident/blog reader sent an audio clip of Bill Lewis' comment from the 01 23 12 Commission meeting.  The reader wrote, "The exchange between Mr. Lewis and the Commissioners concerning off-site parking during the HS construction is one of the best clips I've heard for a while, because it illustrates the arbitrary nature of local government enforcing its own laws." The first voice is that of Bill Lewis, followed by President Dave Brumfield and Solicitor Phil Weis.
Bill Lewis' comment 

Traffic plan needs tweaking

Email from the Washington School principal:

From: Mary Kay Davis <mdavis@mtlsd.net>
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM
Subject: Traffic Alert



We have noticed a deterioration in the traffic patterns here at Washington, especially on days of inclement weather. Please remember the safety of our children is our top priority. The parking lot across the street is a municipal lot. Parking violations such as double parking or parking in the handicap spot without proper tags can be ticketed. 

Pick-up and drop-off at Lawncroft has also become unnecessarily congested. Please remember there is NO parking on the left side of the street. Cars are asked to pull all the way down to allow for safe entrance into vehicles. This would allow for up to five cars to pick up their children and prevent cars from stopping side by side each other. Children should be entering and exiting the right side of vehicles from the side walk ONLY. Please do not encourage your child to walk through cars to get to your car. If you do not see your child when you approach the school, PLEASE circle around to keep the traffic flowing safely.

Please talk to your children about inclement weather plans: where to meet them and what they should do if they do not see you right away. 

The high school construction has begun and parking on the high school campus has changed. This has increased the traffic on Washington Road both in the mornings and the afternoons. High school students are now parking at the Mt. Lebanon Unitied Lutheran Church.

If unsafe situations continue to occur that jeopardize the safety of our students, I will need to request police presence to assist with the violations. Thank you for your assistance in keeping all of our children safe!

Sincerely,
Mary Kay Davis
Principal




If the Lutheran Church parking lot is restricted to teachers and staff, perhaps that would ease the traffic since they arrive at school earlier than the students. There is nothing in their contract about parking close to the school.  As mentioned in the email, it is about keeping all of our children safe.

Mt. Lebanon High School January 12, 2012 Traffic Update

Jan. 12, 2012 Update: Student parking will no longer be available on the high school campus during the school day beginning January 18. Student parking will only be available off-site, during the school day, at the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church on Washington Road and in the Dixon Field Parking Lot on Cedar Boulevard. Parking in either off-site lot is available only to students with valid student parking permits and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Read more below.

This is the only construction related change scheduled at this time. All traffic patterns around the high school campus will operate as normal.

Mt. Lebanon High School Traffic Updates