Ask the School Board about the renovation

A meeting or so ago, a question was raised about the high school renovation project.  A resident felt that there is confusion concerning what is included on the add/delete alternates lists.  Josephine Posti felt that all the information is published online and didn't feel that a forum, circular, or some other update was in order for the community.

I thought it would be interesting to gather questions about the renovation and post them on another poll.  After your votes are cast, I will submit the most popular questions to the School Board and print their responses here, if or when I receive them. 

You may submit them here anonymously, or email them privately to egillen476@aol.com.  I would like your questions by Sunday, October 2 so that I may start a new poll early next week.

Depending on your response, I may do something like this for the candidates running for Commission and School Board.  I have not heard anything about a Candidate's Forum for November's election, so I may do something later in October, if there is enough interest.

Mt. Lebanon's Attack Against PA Public Charter Schools

The following article is from Mt. Lebanon resident and frequent commenter, Richard Gideon.  Richard, thank you for taking the time to visit YSWP and share your experience with us.

MT. LEBANON'S ATTACK AGAINST PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
by Richard Gideon

Might. Might not. Might.

From last week's Almanac.  I am printing the entire article, including the comments that appeared online. As I have said in the past, I do not get the Almanac. I am reprinting the entire article, in addition to the link, since they do not archive their stories.

9/21/2011 

Mt. Lebanon hopes to limit second bond issue
http://www.thealmanac.net/alm/story11/09-21-2011-ML-HS-bond-

By Nick Lewandowski For The Almanac
writer@thealmanac.net
This year's property assessments will likely impact millage rates in Mt. Lebanon, according to a Sept. 19 presentation by director of fiscal services Jan Klein. She said that if assessment values increase--a likely outcome--the district will have to lower the millage rate proportionally.
Millage rates are of concern to the district as it prepares to rebid its $113 million high school renovation project.

Act 1 of 2006 limits the potential millage increase for a given year in proportion to an inflationary index calculated from both Pennsylvania wage increases and a national index for education salary increases.

Klein estimated that number to be 1.7 percent for the 2012-13 budget year.
This could impact the strategy the district uses to fund its renovation project, as it, combined with the elimination of exemptions contained within the recent Act 25 legislation, limits the district's ability to raise taxes to fund debt. While all current debt is considered "pre-Act 1," any additional bonds floated to pay for the renovation will be subject to both Act 1 and Act 25 restrictions.
As it stands now, the district faces a second bond issue of $36,640,000, likely to be needed in 2014.
Klein stressed this was the maximum the district would have to borrow, however. She urged the board to consider alternative funding sources to limit the amount borrowed. These include the $8 million capital projects fund, the $600,000 food services fund and the $1.7 million asbestos abatement fund.
Any money used would still be considered part of the project budget, but would reduce debt issuance, thus leaving the district more flexibility financially.
This could prove critical in a few years as pension and healthcare obligations pressure district finances, especially given the murky legislative climate.
Asked to speculate on the impact of future legislation, Klein replied, "there are so many possible changes you're really going to have to look at it (when something is passed)."
The board also heard recommendations from an eight-member revenue review committee co-chaired by Klein and Kirsten Fudeman, which looked at possibilities for supplementing the district's current sources of income. These included advertising opportunities within the new high school building.
"We have a very attractive demographic in this community," said committee member Marc Field, who worked on that portion of the presentation. "But it would take a real commitment of resources to develop policies to determine what is and isn't appropriate."
More traditional suggestions included a planned giving program and alumni fundraising.
School superintendent Dr. Tim Steinhauer said he along with the administrative team would review the suggestions before making recommendations to the board.
Finally, on Sept. 19 the board voted 9-1 to submit revised PlanCon documents for the renovation for the high school project to the Pennsylvania State Board of Education for approval.
Vice president Dale Ostergaard was the lone dissenter, citing previous concerns regarding add and deduct alternates specified in the bid documents.
"I don't believe (the auxiliary gym, tennis courts and rifle range) should be listed there," he said. "I feel we committed to including them in the Act 34 document."
Just because an item is included on the add/deduct list does not mean it will be deleted from the project. It does, however, give the board options if project bids again come in high.
Several board members have indicated they might not support the project if any of these items had to be removed.
2 comments

Love that last sentence : 9/22/2011
"Several board members have indicated they might not support the project if..." Now there is a commitment to a plan if I ever heard one. Might not?! Might?! Might not?! Might?! I love decisive leadership.
Fed Up

---

What???? : 9/23/2011
Board members... "MIGHT NOT SUPPORT THE PROJECT IF ANY OF THESE ITEMS HAD TO BE REMOVED." Woul someone please analyze that sentence and tell taxpayers exactly what it says! Could one sentence sum up exactly what is wrong with the Mt. Lebanon School Board and the high school project. If they "might not" support the project, then they are also saying subtly "we might support the project too!" Love it when elected officials show decisive action... don't you?
Thinking about being disagreeable!

CNBC's 10 Perfect Suburbs - No. 7 Wexford, PA

7. Wexford, Pennsylvania

Suburb of: Pittsburgh
Metro area unemployment rate: 7.0%
Median house value: $345,579
Safer from crime than this percent of all U.S. communities: 35%

Wexford is a mostly white-collar small city with lots of new housing and urban sophisticates (educated, wealthy, avid readers, well-traveled, supporters of the arts). It has better public schools than 96% of all U.S. communities, and its public schools are better than 99% of schools in the rest of the state. The majority of Wexford’s populace holds a four-year degree (58.3%), and a majority are homeowners (82.6%). Further analysis of the suburb is found on its Neighborhood Scout profile .

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44347217?slide=5

So what kept us off the list? Our taxes? Aging population? Lower median of home values?  Older homes? Higher percentage of rentals?
I remember the day when Mt. Lebanon made all the lists.  I guess I am showing my age.

Bar to Office

President Dan Miller posted an update concerning criminal records and running for elected office in Mt. Lebanon.  This is probably old news to those who follow Dan's blog since it was posted September 15, 2011.  Sorry I didn't see this sooner, Dan.  Bar to Office

Raja and Fitzgerald clash on KDKA

Fitzgerald, Raja clash (again) in radio debate

Mr. Raja was the aggressor, going after Mr. Fitzgerald's support of the county drink tax, his ties to labor and statements by the Democrat's campaign that he approved a new sewer fee while a Mt. Lebanon commissioner. (The Republican argues the fee was offset by a cut to the township's property tax rate.)

I didn't realize that the fee was offset by a cut in our property taxes.  Why bother reducing our property taxes?

Late in the debate, Mr. Fitzgerald noted Mr. Raja's tech firm, CEI, says on its website that it "strives to be No. 1 in outsourcing."

"That's a difference between my opponent and I. My opponent is big on outsourcing. ... I'm about keeping jobs in America, keeping jobs in our county," the Democrat said.

CRB Forum "Can We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?"

The Community Relations Board’s forum “Can We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?” held on September 21, 2011 will air on Verizon Channel 34 and Comcast Channel 17 on Mondays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m.  The podcast is here:

“Can We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?”

Thoughts about the latest five year forecast

I received the following letter from, "Max Tax," a Mt. Lebanon resident and faithful reader of this blog. I won't pull a Posti and say that it is my own, because as I have said in the past, numbers just aren't my thing. Thanks, Max, for your analysis.

The District released its latest five year forecast this week at the school board meeting. There was much discussion about what the numbers meant but there was not much discussion about the meat that mattered.

The "meat that matters" in this discussion is both what is left in the forecast and what is left out.

What is in the forecast are the following:

1. Earned Income Taxes are calculated as increasing at 3% a year going forward.  That will happen only if the overall economy significantly improves.

2. Investment Earnings are calculated as significantly increasing in the coming years.  However, the District only invests in the safest of investments that are typically relatively short term.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today predictably announced that he expects the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates between 0 and .25% until at least the middle of 2013.  This makes a large increase in investment earning hard to believe.

3. State subsidies are calculated to increase at 2% per year.  This is something that cannot conceivably happen and, in fact, did not happen.  Again, unless we have a remarkable economic recovery we can expect our funding to, at best, stay the same and perhaps get reduced if things do not improve.

4. ALL EXPENSES except for salaries, fringe benefits, and debt service are held at ZERO PERCENT increases for the foreseeable future.

Each of the points above are not hard for the common person to understand.  It is unlikely that EIT will grow at 3% a year. It is very unlikely that investment earnings will grow significantly.  State subsidy increases are certainly at risk until the national economy show significant improvement.  The likelihood that all expenses will not increase one bit over the next five years is just plain silly.

What is missing from the forecast are the following points:

1. Buried toward the bottom of the forecast is the fact that there are no Program Change Proposals.  This means that we are not currently budgeting for ANY type of improvement to the education of our children.  In the past, the Board has used Capital Project money to fund a few small changes.  However, the Capital Project fund is extremely limited going forward especially since it is the District's intent to use much of those funds for the high school project.  Additionally, those funds are supposed to be used to fund more typical annual maintenance and improvements to EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT.  This is not a fund that is set aside to fund program changes. That was never its intent.

2. The forecast curiously does not include a simple calcuation for the millage increase needed to fund the next bond issuance for the high school project. However, it is quite simple to get close to this number.  Simply look at the the Real Estate Tax line and see where it starts and 2010 and where it ends in 2016-2017.  The increase in real estate taxes can only come from a change in assessed values or from a tax increase.  Given that we have had no change in assessed values (save for some individual property value changes) the District should assume that the assessed value number will not change, just as it has not changed for the last decade.  The simple calculation shows a 33% increase in taxes to cover the growing expenses.

3.  The forecast also does not show the increased cost to taxpayers of phasing in bonds over multiple years.  This "phasing" can only be done at additional cost to taxpayers in the form of additional interest payments or additional bond costs.  This "phasing" of the bonds is being done for one reason and one reason only.  This summer, the PA Legislature and Governor signed into law strengthened Act 1 paramenters so that school districts could no longer skirt Act 1 millage increase limits by floating bonds that avoided the reach of Act 1.  What the District is doing here flies directly in the face of the intent of Act 1- to give the voters of the District a voice in tax increases that are in excess of inflation.  By phasing in the bonds over multiple years, the District will attempt to keep the tax increases for the second (or third or fourth) bond issuance away from the ballot box.  Additionally, this attempt to phase in these bonds will necessarily put pressure on the entire rest of the District budget.  For instance, if the District wants to spend $2 million on a change in programs for our English curriculum, it will not have the ability to easily fund this while staying under Act 1.  In fact, the District may go for a referendum at the ballot box to fund these PCPs and not even mention that this vote is due to the fact that they are using the Act 1 exception limits to pay off a bond for the high school project.  This type of action of absolutely repulsive. 

The budget is not pretty.   A 33% increase in taxes is not pretty-especially given some of the rosy assumptions mentioned above (state subsidy increases, EIT increases, expenses held to 0% increases). 

What is even more suspect is that way the District continues to spend taxpayer money like it is water running through a sieve.  The Board is able to consistently find the most expensive way to fund this high school project.  First they floated bonds two years too early (September/October 2009) at rates that are higher than they are today- and we still don't need the money given that we have yet to put a shovel in the ground.  Second, they chose a traditional municipal bond even though very simple calculations given to us by our bond advisor showed that floating Build America Bonds (non-tax exempt bonds where the federal government rebated a percentage of the bond interest) would have provided over $2 million in taxpayer savings.  And now they have decided to phase in the second float of bonds at additional taxpayer expense all to avoid an Act 1 referendum on this project.

I know fiscal responsibility has not been a strong point of this board for some time.  But the degree to which this has gone absolutely astonishes me.  If I didn't know better I would suggest that the Board is actually trying to find the most expensive way to build this high school.  But I do know better.  And the truth of the matter is the Board is simply exhausting every conceivable option to keep this project from a referendum that they know would fail.

"It's only common sense when you're dealing with children."

Looks like the city is cracking down on football coaches, assistant coaches and cheerleading coaches.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_757758.html 

Harper ordered the leagues to conduct background checks on all adults who work with children and made clearance of those checks a requirement before they could receive credentials, which are required to be present on the field.

Update September 22, 2011 9:40 a.m. Two Mt. Lebanon youth football coaches step down

Brown withdrawing from race

Mt. Lebanon commission candidate plans to withdraw from race

A candidate running for D. Raja`s former seat on the Mt. Lebanon Board of Commissioners is walking away from his campaign, not long after someone anonymously mailed packets to politicians and media outlets, including the Tribune-Review, listing traffic tickets and one misdemeanor conviction with his name on them.
Thomas M. Brown told fellow Republican and incumbent commission candidate Joseph DeIuliis on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the race for the Ward 1 seat Raja left to run for Allegheny County Executive. Brown declined to comment on the contents of the mailed packet.
The citations date as far back as 1988 and include charges filed in Akron, Ohio, the City of Pittsburgh, Donegal, Mt. Lebanon and Moon. Most are for speeding violations although there was a citation for disorderly conduct, for which he plead guilty, two charges of harassment that were withdrawn or dismissed, and a charge of simple assault in May 2008 that required Brown to participate in a program for first time offenders.
Brown confirmed he would follow up Tuesday night with a letter to the Mt Lebanon Republican Committee, but declined to comment on whether the contents of the packet were a factor. He will not petition Common Pleas Court to have his name removed from the ballot, but he would stop all campaigning, he said.
Though DeIuliis said Brown informed him that he was dropping out, he did not specify that the digging into his past was the reason.
"When you dabble in politics, you find out how ruthless it is," DeIuliis said. "I would assume that factored into it."

Read more: Mt. Lebanon commission candidate plans to withdraw from race - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_757791.html#ixzz1YXV8fHcj

Update September 21, 2011 12:50 a.m. The Post Gazette also received the anonymous packet according to this article. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11263/1176183-100.stm  

Mt. Lebanon to Address Conflict Resolution

Laura Pace Lilly asked me to post this on Lebo Citizens.  I think the timing for such an event is perfect, especially in the area concerning conflicts on the playing fields.

Mt. Lebanon to Address Conflict Resolution

The increase in hostility these days is palpable. In the media, on the playing field, in the halls of government and in our neighborhoods, conflict is on the rise and the reactions range from less-than-cordial to downright shocking.

To counter this trend, the Mt. Lebanon Community Relations Board is presenting the forum “Can We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?” on Wednesday, September 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Commission Chambers, 710 Washington Road, in Mt. Lebanon. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

Moderated by KDKA’s Jon Delano, the panel will include: Ellen DeBenedetti, a mediator, trainer, conflict coach and facilitator; David Miller, professor at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs; Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist; The Rev. Kris Opat, assistant rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Emily Stevick, psychologist.

“Our community relations board has put together an outstanding panel, who will share their own experiences, answer questions from the audience and talk informally with people after the meeting, “ says Susan Morgans, staff liaison to the board. “We hope to raise awareness among the public that respectful disagreement can often lead to new ideas and workable compromises.”

Since I will not be able to attend this meeting, I am willing to post a recording of it on the Lebo Citizens website, if there is someone out there willing to record it.  I do have an extra recorder, if needed.

Goals, Forecast, and Presentations Galore

I see that the School District has finally published the Superintendent Goals for the 2011-2012 school year.
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/2009/05_supt_performancegoals_20112012.pdf  September 19 is certainly better than when they were published last year.  It was in November.

Also at tonight's meeting, the Five Year Forecast , a Budget Presentation which included early discussions of the 2012-2013 Budget, and the Revenue Generating Team presented their findings.  OK number crunchers, on your mark, get set, GO!  What do you think about all this?

Another one bites the dust

A Mt. Lebanon football coach was arrested recently.  http://pd.mtlebanon.org/blotter/police-blotter-090811-091411.pdf Thanks goes to Chip Dalesandro for handling this quickly.

Nothing has changed.

Looking at the Blog-Lebo archives,   http://bloglebo.blogspot.com/2009/04/ultimatum-from-some-athletic-supporters.html  David Reese needs to get new material.  His letter, which he has not permitted me to reprint,  is quite similar, almost verbatim in his comments.  Mike Madison called his actions bullying on April 14, 2009. 

I see and read bullying here (in the "questionnaire"). I object to bullying by adults even more than I object to bullying by children. Our kids deserve better models.

In looking at Dave Reese's letter to me, I have done some investigating. It appears that the athletic supporters are waiting for a defined project before contributing any money. How much more defined can it be? He has a $30 million facility PURELY FOR ATHLETICS going in as part of the HS project.  How much more defined is that?

His original idea was for a fieldhouse on the Rockpile.  It would have provided all-weather indoor practice facilities for the sports teams. They had suggested that they could raise half the cost of the estimated $16 million project (for which they had already had an architect do some drawings.)  Yet, Reese denies there was ever a promise.  He said that no one knows what they are talking about and that we could meet "AND NO RECORDER", but then withdrew his offer.  I was dismissed and told to go back to my blogging and flogging.

Elaine "Blogging and Flogging" Gillen

Digital Citizenship

The following letter to the school board was sent on Friday evening by a Mt. Lebanon resident and taxpayer.  Fellow blog authors at Blog-Lebo and lebodesign and I were CC'd this article sent to the board. His point was there might not be a need for a forum on disagreement in the community if truth, facts and honest interaction was the rule.

It is being reprinted here with permission.

Subject: Check out Harvard Education Letter

To all:

On the subject of plagiarism and regarding the upcoming Community Relation's Board Forum "Can We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable" I offer the following link: Harvard Education Letter

I found it to be extremely timely in that it relates to the plagiarism issue, the Community Forum and Policy Committee topics.

While we are educating our children to live and work in the 21st century, shouldn't we also lead them on a path towards being "Good" 'Digital Citizens'? We as adults should "teach our children well" as Crosby, Stills, Nash wrote in one of their songs.

I still find it unfortunate that Mrs. Posti chose to defend her "wittingly or unwittingly" plagiarism. But, to move forward let’s learn from the issue and educate our kids in practicing "safe, legal and ethical use of digital information and tools." Let them know there are standards they should aspire too. We'll be creating better citizens and a better community!

As to the forum, I believe that YES -- "we can disagree without being disagreeable", if and only if the adversaries first agree on what it is they are being disagreeable about! See Mr. Rothschild's response to Mr. Reese that appears on Mrs. Gillen's blog. Playing loose and free with claims, facts and responsibility I believe is what creates the animosity in the community!

I quote the start of the Harvard article here:

"Volume 27, Number 5 September/October 2011

Turning Digital Natives into Digital Citizens By DAVE SALTMAN
Today’s K–12 students are commonly called “digital natives” because they have grown up with digital technology. But natives can run wild, using the Internet to (wittingly or unwittingly) plagiarize others’ work or bully peers using social media.

Now, educators are teaching digital natives how to become good digital citizens. As defined by federal officials in the recently released National Education Technology Plan and by educators in the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS), model digital citizens “practice safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and tools.” While cyberbullying remains a concern, teachers are helping students investigate the weighty issue of intellectual property rights in order to keep them within legal and ethical bounds. Using websites as well as their own tools, they are helping students understand important concepts such as fair use and copyright, and are also helping them see the relevance in these topics by learning how to protect their own digital work."

And below this from the "National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS)" should be adopted by our policy committee for... students, teachers, administrators and board members! I love A!

5. Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:

1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.