Dear Newcomers

The following letter is from Lebo Citizens reader, John David Kendrick.

DEAR NEWCOMERS,…

Earlier today I watched the April 8, 2014 meeting of the Mt. Lebanon Commission and I have several observations that I want to share with you:

1. Contrary to Dave Brumfield’s comments around the 48 minute mark, Nancy Carroll will not have any discussion with you concerning an informal resolution of the appeal. In fact, the only response that you will get from her is, “I’ll see you at the hearing.”

2. The four Commissioners present at the meeting couldn't care less about your problems:

     a. They have no reason to care (they are not your stakeholders);

     b. They have no interest in the welfare of you or your family; and

     c. In all likelihood they don’t understand the impact that they have had on your property values.

3. All of you should be proud of how you presented yourselves at the meeting.

     a. You all were well prepared with your comments.

     b. Your comments were well researched.

     c. You showed respect for the institution and the office – which is the polar opposite of what these four FARTS have shown your families!

The question is how you can deal with the problem at hand…

The biggest problem that all of you have is that you don’t have any leverage over the Commissioners. Your presentations made an appeal to their sympathy or the logic of their decision, but you need to find something that will capture their attention and make them more sensitive and responsive to your problems. Leverage can come in many ways and political leverage appears to be the most effective solution for this problem. You need to find something, like the potential death of the turf project, that you can control. For instance, after I heard that Dick’s was contributing $5,000 I decided that I’ll never go shopping in a Dick’s store again! Maybe all of you can think of similar collective economic leverage that you can assert?

I can’t stress enough that the Commission's behavior is a call to action. There is a burning platform before every Mt. Lebanon resident – and it’s the equity, your hard-earned and invested money in your home that is going up in flames before your eyes! All of you absolutely must get involved, get organized, select your candidates and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Don’t delay – the Community is about to turn into ashes before your eyes!

Sincerely,

John David Kendrick

TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE!

My mailbox is being flooded with emails complaining about the eblast that was just sent. This is totally inappropriate, using municipal email/resources to raise private funds for a private field. It is my understanding that Sandy Kyper works in the Recreation Department with David Donnellan.

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Sandy Kyper" <skyper@mtlebanon.org>
Date: April 10, 2014 at 1:18:27 PM EDT
To: skyper@mtlebanon.org
Cc: ddonnellan@mtlebanon.org, lwuycheck@mtlebanon.org, pcannon@mtlebanon.org,skyper@mtlebanon.org
Subject: Mt. Lebanon Field Improvement Project

Subject: Mt. Lebanon Field Improvement Project

As you may know, the Mt. Lebanon Commission approved a plan to install artificial turf at Wildcat and Middle Fields, and allocated approximately $750,000 towards the completion of this important field improvement project.

Adding artificial turf at this location will undoubtedly benefit all of our community recreation and athletic programs, from youth soccer, lacrosse and baseball all the way up through our varsity high school programs; and it will create the opportunity for some much-anticipated adult league play.

The funds allocated by the Commission are conditioned upon a non-municipal, private contribution of approximately $250,000. Through the generosity of Mt. Lebanon's various youth sports associations, over $100,000 has been raised so far.

If you would like to make a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation to the Turf Project Fund, donations will be received and held by the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment. Please visit the link below to make your tax deductible contribution online:

 http://www.mtlebanonendowment.org/contributions/field-improvement-project/

The deadline for contributions is May 13, 2014.

Mt. Lebanon, are you going to tolerate this? Why are we allowing it to continue? This project is a WANT by Dave Brumfield, Dave Franklin, and David Donnellan.

Educational Forum on Artificial Turf infuriated the PIO

During the very intense Citizens Comments portion of Tuesday's Commission meeting, Environmental Sustainability Board representative, Maria Joseph announced the following Educational Forum on Artificial Turf and referenced this flyer which was available to residents.

Please look at the link to the flyer. I can't get it to format properly.

EDUCATIONAL FORUM ON ARTIFICIAL TURF IN MT LEBANON
DID YOU KNOW THAT TOWNS/CITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ARE CONSIDERING MORATORIUMS ON TURF UNTIL UNBIASED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS AVAILABLE ON THE EXPOSURE OF ARTIFICIAL TURF ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH? 

Learn more about the impacts of artificially turfed fields when it comes to our children’s health, water run-off & heat island effects 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30th AT 7-8:30pm 

MUNICIPAL BUILDING IN THE CHAMBERS

For more information please email:  healthylebo@gmail.com
Mt Lebanon Commissioners voted 3-2 to spend $750,000 of taxpayer money to add artificially turfed fields along Cedar Blvd at Wildcat/Middle Fields near the entrance of Main Park.    

In May a decision will be made about specific design options such as tire crumb rubber in-fill vs organic in-fill.
With such a long-term and expensive investment (over $2.5 million in 8 years),  our community needs to know more about these fields including the short and long-term effects of these materials on our children, coaches and residents nearby.

It was observed by several residents at the meeting, that our PIO was livid that this educational forum is being held in the Commission Chambers without her knowledge.

Prior to the Commission meeting, David Donnellan reported during the Commission Discussion Session that this informational meeting is taking place on April 24, 2014.

I understand that the commissioners whose wards are affected were not contacted by Mr. Donnellan prior to the announcement of this informational meeting.

I spoke with David Donnellan after Tuesday's meeting and asked him when he will be posting the concept plans that he mentioned at the Sports Advisory Board meeting. He changed his mind and was not going to post them as he had indicated to the Sports Advisory Board. He felt that they were subject to change and was asking the PIO to set up a separate web page dedicated to the Mt. Lebanon Turf Project. David offered to share them with me after I asked if I should file a Right To Know. Here they are.

Turf Concept Plan
Turf Perspective

Tonight, the Environmental Sustainability Board will be meeting at 7:30 PM in the Municipal Meeting. Unfortunately, no agenda has been posted. We can thank the municipal staff for that one.

"I will shut down this meeting!" UPDATED 2X

I can't wait until the Commission meeting video is uploaded on mtlebanon.org. At one point, President Linfante threatened the angry newcomers and real estate agents with, "I will shut down this meeting!" I hope the camera caught Manager Feller's expression when Kristen said that. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. I wish she did shut down the meeting. Kristen would have been in deep doo-doo had she followed through with her threat.

Wow! What a night! I am hoping to hear from the newcomers and post their stories, charts, graphs and comments from tonight's meeting. I had the pleasure of meeting many of my new Lebo Citizens readers. I will be uploading the podcasts shortly. I uploaded the podcasts and are available here.

Until then, I just want to say how happy I am to see residents attending a Commission meeting. Newcomers, you really need to go to a school board meeting. You heard the solicitor tonight. If the municipality "presses that pause button," the school board can and probably will proceed. Somebody has to pay for those raises, the $74,000 trophy case and the new teachers' contract.

A resident was wearing this sign at the meeting. Copies were available on the table.

Not to be disrespectful, but I saw a similar reaction last night.

Update April 10, 2014 7:35 AM Residents who bought homes in 2011-12 fighting Mt. Lebanon's assessment appeals 

Mt. Lebanon to hold meeting for property owners whose assessments are being appealed 

Update April 10, 2014 12:02 PM The April 8, 2014 Mt. Lebanon Commission Meeting video has been uploaded on the Municipal website here.

Did they or didn't they? UPDATED

Here we go again. I am getting conflicting information. According to Dave Franklin, Mt. Lebanon Soccer made the largest, single contribution to the Toxic Turf Project. I took his comment and emailed Commissioner John Bendel, and copied the Recreation Director and the MTLSD Athletic Director.

The exchange, which I believe I have shared here before, is below.

On Mar 23, 2014, at 10:47 AM, "egillen476@aol.com" <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

Good morning Gentlemen,

On March 15, 2014 at 10:58 PM, Dave Franklin posted this on my blog post, https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2395310382514169324&postID=1444478462632748849

"On 10:42, to date soccer has made the single largest donation to the turf project...

Dave Franklin"

How much was soccer's donation? Since you are members of the Turf Project Task Force, I thought I should ask you directly, rather than waiting for Dave Franklin to respond on my Lebo Citizens blog. To date, Mr. Franklin has not answered my question.

Thanks in advance.

Elaine Gillen

From: John Bendel <jbendel@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: Recreation David Donnellan <ddonnellan@mtlebanon.org>; John Grogan <JGrogan@mtlsd.net>; Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Sent: Sun, Mar 23, 2014 8:24 pm
Subject: Re: Soccer donation for Mt. Lebanon Turf Project

Elaine,

The soccer association has made a pledge to the turf project. Since they are a private association, I do not feel comfortable providing the specific amount of their pledge without their approval to do so. Several other sports associations have made pledges and the Commission expects to receive a status report on the totals in early April for pledges and cash on hand as of month-end March. The status report with the totals can be shared at that time. 

Lo and behold, this eblast surfaces today.

From: MLSA Announce <mlsa@tristan.excaliburdata.com>
Date: April 7, 2014 at 3:40:36 PM EDT
Subject: [MLSA] Cedar Boulevard Turf Project - please read carefully
Reply-To: <soccer@mlsa.org>

Friends of Soccer:

On behalf of the Mt. Lebanon Soccer Association, I wanted to take a minute to share with you some important news regarding the APPROVED plan to add artificial turf at Wildcat and Middle Fields.  The Commission has allocated approximately $750,000 towards the completion of this important field project.

Adding artificial turf at this location will undoubtedly benefit our Association as well as community recreation programs, other youth sports associations, our high school programs, and it will even allow for some much-anticipated adult league play.  Practices and games on the turf will not be affected by soggy field conditions again.  Our ability to teach our youth will greatly improve with a consistent playing surface.

These improvements are long overdue, and our Association would like to thank the many folks who have been involved in this effort over many, many years.  However, the work is not complete. The plan approved by the Commission also requires a private contribution of approximately $250,000. To date, the Sports Advisory Board has raised over $100,000 through limited requests. This is a great start, but let's not stop now!

On behalf of the Association, I would kindly ask that you please consider making a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation to the Turf Project Fund. 

Go to http://www.mtlebanonendowment.org/contributions/field-improvement-project/ to make your tax deductible donation TODAY!

If you have any questions, or if you know a corporation or local business that might be interested in participating in this exciting project, please contact the Sports Advisory Board at leboturfproject@gmail.com.

** We know that all of our kids probably play more than one sport and we appreciate that you might receive an email like this from another Association.  Please understand that our goal is not to stuff your mailbox, but this truly is a community-wide, grass roots effort.  Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Thanks for your time and consideration,

Bob Andrews

MLSA President

So did the Soccer Association make the largest single contribution or didn't they? Was Dave Franklin's announcement premature? Am I being lied to? Or did someone on the Soccer Association commit to something without the approval of the Association? Are parents being asked to contribute twice? Is this another example of donating the same $125,000 over and over? I love his choice of words, "grass roots effort."
Mr. Andrews was one of the eighteen who wrote in support of turfing Middle and Wildcat Fields.

Update April 8, 2014 10:57 PM During Citizens Comments tonight, I asked about the Soccer Association donation. John Bendel is still not comfortable releasing that information. Through my Right To Know, I learned of the possibility of corporate deal with Dick's Sporting Goods. Steve Silverman shared that Dick's has donated $5,000. That's it. No clothing deals and no sign. I also asked what the amount is projected to cost. John Bendel said that it was still $1,000,000 with $750,000 coming from us and $250,000 coming from "non-municipal funds." If the project comes in higher than that, the Commission has not decided whether the Sports Advisory Board's contribution will remain at $250,000 or if it will be 25% of the project, as originally discussed.

Toxic Newcomers Turf will cost more

The Crown Jewel Toxic Turf Project being built to lure unsuspecting newcomers to the community and will allegedly increase the value of each and every one of our homes is going to cost taxpayers more than expected. According to the Sports Advisory Board - April 3, 2014 video, the Middle/Wildcat Toxic Turf Project will be 1,000 square feet more than initially thought. A better survey was done and indicates the true size will be 111,200 square feet. The soccer field will be 165x320, not 180x360. The area will be smaller than the High School and Jefferson fields. All soccer games and varsity games will use 2 time slots. The fields will not be available for simultaneous use. I would love to have a revised time slot number using that information.

At the beginning of the meeting, a very powerful message was delivered in citizens comments by a former Mt. Lebanon Soccer/Basketball mom. She started out by saying that there is a definite need for more fields in Mt. Lebanon. Turfing an existing field with toxic turf does not solve any problems. I guess this woman is a research scientist and analyzed the existing data out there concerning the toxicity of artificially turfed fields, both organic infill and synthetic infill, as well as the blades of grass and backing. Her conclusions were that artificial turf was marketed and studied for adult, professional use only. Many other factors were not considered, including the size and metabolism of children, which she identified in her comments. She spoke for about 20 minutes and there were 10 minutes of Q and A's.

The day after the SAB meeting, on April 4, 2014, a comment was posted on Four more documents from the mother of all RTKs at 1:29 PM, which I found very disturbing.

Referring to the previous video posted on Lebo Citizens (http://vimeo.com/49518944) regarding the hazards of synthetic turf and featuring two scientists including Kathleen Michels, Ph.D.:
Dr. Michels has been nominated to be the "Mom on a Mission 2014" by HealthyChild, Healthy World.
http://healthychild.org/mom-on-a-mission-finalist/kathleen-michaels/
Some of the mothers in Mt Lebanon who have advocated for healthy playing fields have been threatened, mocked, and intimidated by members of the Sports Advisory Board. One elected mother received such a threatening email from a Mt Lebanon coach that it was turned over to the police.
Ask yourself, Mothers, if artificial turf were good for Mt Lebanon, why would Dr. Michels be nominated for this honor by Healthy Child, Healthy World, and at the very same time, why would mothers who feel the same way in Mt Lebanon be treated with such aggression, hostility, disparagement, and unfairness?

OK, back to the meeting. Core samples were done and indicate no rock. Plans include a portable pitchers mound on Middle and a permanent clay mound for Wildcat. David Donnellan promised to get the concept plan of the layout online within a couple of days of the Sports Advisory Board meeting. Tuesday's Discussion Session Agenda reveals that this will be discussed.

The good news is that The Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment website, Field Improvement Project Fund is up and running. Dave Franklin sent 200-300 emails during its roll out and raised $2500 in 48 hours. That comes to an average of $7.58 per signature from his petition. The amount raised so far is around $115,000 to $120,000. Field hockey contributed $500 which will give them a small spot to play, under the trees - all said in jest. No mention of the amount of the soccer donation, which John Bendel was uncomfortable sharing with me.

Under Potential Capital Projects, a couple of ideas came up. One was an indoor multipurpose athletic facility. Dave Franklin shared his wife's plan. She said that an elementary school can be closed, move the administrative offices from the high school, and use the fields, auditorium, etc., as a community center.

Finally, a public meeting is planned for all affected neighbors on April 24, 2014 at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be at Middle and Wildcat Fields.

Change orders for April 2014

According to the Monday, April 7, 2014 Agenda, the change orders totaling $166,727 are:

a. GC-99-221 to Nello for $42,528 for wall and floor work,

b. PL-29-222 to Vrabel for $3,964 for water and heater repairs,

c. EL-60-223 to Farfield for $12,161 for additional fire alarm horns,

d. FP-05-224 to SimplexGrinnell for $91,713 for additional sprinklers above auditorium, and

e. IN-02-04 to Vrabel for $16,361 for hot water heater repairs to be reimbursed through insurance.

As one newcomer said, "More propaganda from mtl Magazine"

property assessments

More articles by Merle Jantz »

Written by: Merle Jantz

Properties in Mt. Lebanon, as all other municipalities in Allegheny County, were reassessed in 2013 by Allegheny County.

After the reassessment, many homeowners appealed, citing over assessment. Mt. Lebanon, in the interest of equity across all residential property, investigated appealing under assessed properties.

Ideally, counties across Pennsylvania would reassess all properties on a regular basis, but that does not happen. “Reassessments should happen every three years,” says Mt. Lebanon Finance Director Andrew McCreery. “We waited 11 years in Allegheny County, and we’re not sure when the next one will be. Washington County is still using 1981 as a base year.”

With the intention of capturing the most recent market values, Mt. Lebanon decided to appeal the property assessments of 156 houses sold in 2013, and another 138 sold between 2006-2010. The municipality is not appealing the assessments of all houses sold during these time frames, only of houses that sold for a much greater price than their assessed valuation.

Specifically, the properties that are being appealed: sold for more than $100,000; show a difference of at least $58,000 between the sale price and the assessed value, and the ratio between the assessed value and the sale price was 80 percent or less.

For example, a house with an assessed value of $145,100 sold in 2013 for a price of $415,000 has a $269,900 difference between assessed value and sale price, meaning the assessed value is now only 35 percent of the sale price. This house is one of the 156 2013 cases that Mt. Lebanon is appealing. There were 375 2013 residential property sales that did not fit the criteria or were below a sale price of $50,000.

“There are avenues of relief if you believe your house is over assessed,” McCreery says. “But this is our only way of evening out the inequity if a house sells for significantly more than its assessed value.”

The last two property reassessments conducted in Allegheny County were in 2002 and 2013. After conducting a reassessment, the county uses all of the home values obtained that year as the “base year” by which all assessments are calculated. From 2002 to 2012, the base year used for newly sold homes was 2002. Currently, the base year is 2013 until the next reassessment.

Once the municipality notifies a homeowner of its intention to appeal the assessment, the county schedules a hearing sometime within the next six months. At the hearing, homeowners may represent themselves or be represented by an attorney, presenting any information relevant to the fair market value of the property. The county then makes a decision to lower the assessment, maintain the current assessment or raise the assessment.

If the property owner is not satisfied with the county’s ruling, the next step in the process is to appear before the Allegheny County Board of Viewers. Of houses sold in 2011 and 2012, Mt. Lebanon appealed 153 sales, 43 of which sent a notice of their intent to go before the Board of Viewers. Many of those cases are still pending.

The board has a large backlog of cases, and an appeal could take years to resolve, says McCreery, adding that, “Going in front of the Board of Viewers is a considerable expense for the municipality, and for the homeowner.”

To learn more about the assessment and appeals process, visit  www.county.allegheny.pa.us/opa/index.aspx.

Important message from Chief Coleman McDonough

CALL 9-1-1!!!  

An important reminder from Chief Coleman McDonough….

As a relative newcomer to Mt. Lebanon (I’ve only been the Chief of Police here for five years), perhaps I’m just not yet familiar with some of the customs or traditions that have evolved here over time. Many Mt. Lebanon residents pride themselves on their welcoming attitude toward strangers, and go out of their way to welcome new people to their neighborhoods. Based on recent events, I can only assume that as an extension of that spirit of hospitality, some of our residents are apparently NOT alarmed when they run into strangers inside their own homes. Were our residents suitably alarmed, one might assume they would CALL THE POLICE when they encounter intruders in their homes.

Recently we’ve had at least two occasions when Mt. Lebanon residents have discovered strangers inside their homes. In both cases, the residents waited literally hours to call 911 to report the intruders.   Another resident discovered a strange man attempting to turn the knob on the front door; she too failed to call the police for several hours. Two of these three incidents occurred on the same day and in the same neighborhood as another successful burglary.

The Mt. Lebanon Police can help deter crime here, but without citizens taking common sense steps to assist us, our mission is much more difficult.  Compare the failure of our burglary/trespass victims to call 911 to a recent robbery victim’s actions; by immediately dialing 911, the robbery victim ensured we were able to quickly respond and take two suspects into custody within minutes.

If you believe a crime may be occurring, or if you simply think something is suspicious, please don’t hesitate toCALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. If it turns out to be just a “misunderstanding”, we’ll sort that out when we get there. Better to apologize to someone who mistakenly enters your home than to allow a burglar to walk away and return to your neighborhood to prey on you and your neighbors.

If you suspect something isn’t right, here’s the short version:

What NOT to do:

-          Wait for your wife or husband to come home?         NOPE

-          Call Aunt Myrtle for advice?                                          NOPE

-          Email your Mt. Lebanon Commissioner?                   NOPE

-          Call the maintenance man at your church?               NOPE

-          Post a query on Facebook?                                             NOPE

What to DO:

                                       CALL 911

                Repeat after me .  . .       CALL 911 !!!!!!

Addicted to Revenue UPDATED 2X

The following Letter to the Editor appeared in the April 3, 2014 edition of the PG.

Mt. Lebanon school board President Elaine Cappucci was recently quoted as saying that if the school district did not raise taxes (again), the Mt. Lebanon schools would be “decimated.” Mt. Lebanon has repeatedly raised taxes on its residents over the past several years, either through millage increases or by targeting individual property owners in court for higher tax assessments. Recently, in collaboration with the township, a legal group was hired to go after 150 new residents who bought their homes in 2011 and 2012 for higher tax assessments via what amounts to a “newcomer’s tax.”

First, Ms. Cappucci’s hyperbolic comment about the state of Mt. Lebanon schools is manipulative and irresponsible. Mt. Lebanon has good teachers and kids who largely have support at home; there is no risk of imminent decimation. Having worked in schools in New York and Detroit, I have seen decimated schools. Kids come to school abused and hungry. Teachers are unsupported and ill-trained. The physical environment is not only unpleasant but dangerous. Mt. Lebanon’s schools will not be decimated if taxes are not raised. It is just that school officials will need to make choices they are not used to making (while 95 percent of school districts around the country would love to be even in their pared-down condition).

Further, Mt. Lebanon Commissioner David Brumfield wants to expand unfair taxing from buyers of homes in 2011-2012 to those who bought in 2006-2010 and 2013. At a recent meeting, he expressed happiness with the fact that such a move would raise an additional $14 million. But who authorized a budget increase of $14 million? What do they need all that money for? And do Mt. Lebanon residents ever get to say “enough is enough”?

The township’s budget already has increased from just under $40 million in 2011 to just under $50 million in 2013. The school district’s proposed budget for 2014-15 is $94 million. This is approximately $144 million to run the schools and municipality in a midsized suburban community in Western Pennsylvania — an annual budget larger than that of some entire nations.

Like an addict whose solitary goal increasingly becomes getting cash for the next fix, Mt. Lebanon has become addicted to revenue and has shown an increased willingness to achieve the intake of public dollars at all costs. But if Mt. Lebanon does not quell its appetite for the people’s cash, the one thing that will be decimated is the idea that this particular community in the South Hills is a good place to move to and live.

JASON MARGOLIS
Mt. Lebanon

Update April 3, 2014 10:20 AM The following letter to the editor appeared in 04.02.14 edition of The Almanac. Lebo assessments grossly unfair (Saved in Google Docs)

Update April 3, 2014 4:18 PM  The letter in the first update states that there are homes with garages that were assessed improperly. The county database has more fields than what is published on the county website. The website will only show garages that are part of the dwelling. If a garage is attached or detached it will have a “0” after garage on the website. In most cases the county assessed the detached and attached garage and has that information on the property record card. The property record card can be purchased for .25 per page. Contact the county at 412-350-4600 to inquire about obtaining a property record card on any property in Allegheny County.

This is valuable information. Why? If the property record card is wrong, your tax bill is wrong!

Lessons learned - not an April Fools joke

Yesterday was the deadline to appeal reassessments. We have all learned quite a bit about the process. I decided to make a list of what I have learned.

• If you want to add value to your house, add a roof to your front porch. Spending $50,000 to update your kitchen and having the Post Gazette write about it, is not investing wisely.
• If you have lakefront property in Mt. Lebanon, your house will go down in value.
• If you support a commissioner's dream and present it at a Commission Discussion Session, you will reduce the value of your home to below 1988 prices.
• If you are related to any highly paid municipal staff, your home already assessed at $40,000 less than the 2004 purchase price, will be reassessed an additional $113,400 less. 
• If you are a commissioner, the value of your home may be significantly less than your neighbor's. This may also hold true if you are a school board director, past or present.
• You can work for Diversified Municipal Services and still be on the Community Relations Board and be a member of the ad hoc committee to change our municipal constitution, the Home Rule Charter.
• On a square foot basis, the larger the home, the less your home is worth. Invest in small houses. In the low rent district.
• If you are a school district finance director, move out of Mt. Lebanon to avoid the taxes.
• Real estate agents work for the seller, not the buyer.
• Take advantage of the Homestead Exclusion.
• Pay attention to deadlines.
• Start attending commission meetings and school board meetings.

School board April 14 meeting changed

Another change on the MTLSD website with no announcements, buried in the website. Mistakes in millage amounts and now meeting changes. Another fine service of our well paid Director of Communications.

Meeting Change Notice 

The Regular Meeting of the Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors scheduled for Monday, April 14, 2014 has been moved to Tuesday, April 15, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

The Board plans adoption of a proposed final budget for 2014-2015 at the Regular Board Meeting on April 15, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. The Board plans final adoption of said 2014-2015 budget at the Regular Board Meeting on May19, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. Copies of the preliminary budget (as adopted on January 20, 2014) and the proposed final budget will be available to the public at the administration offices of the School District located at 7 Horsman Drive, Pittsburgh PA 15228, or on the District website at least 20 days before official Board action on the final budget.

Four more documents from the mother of all RTKs

On March 26, 2014, I had sent this email to Manager Steve Feller.

Hi Steve,  

I have been reviewing the missing attachments which you sent and see that there are a few more attachments which are missing from those attachments. Specifically, on page 168, the PureFill Brochure and 
"Attached you will find a document titled "Synthetic Turf Safety Proven with Science", an overview of all of the major issues with cited research. This is the single best collection of research data."
Also, page 175 from Prograss: "I have provided an attachment with all the fields we have installed in Pennsylvania and a Multi-field project list as well."
Thank you in advance for your followup. 

Elaine Gillen

This was his response along with the four attachments.

Hi Elaine 

The items you inquired about are attached.  It seems that we missed these because they were actually located in a file hosting service. Thank you.  

Steve Feller

Multifield project list

ProGrass Installations

PureFill Brochure

SBR Safety Proven With Science

Are you frickin' kidding me? UPDATED 2X

I just checked the Mt. Lebanon School District Budget website. Weren't the school board directors talking about a .55 mill increase at the most? Nooooo! They are talking about a mill and a half increase!!!!!!!

The Board discussed using a combination of cost reductions, increased revenues and use of fund balance to balance the budget. After much discussion, the consensus of the Board was to look at the use of $500,000-$1 million in fund balance and a millage increase of approximately a mill and a half. (Saved in Google Docs)

A MLSD 1.0 mill is equivalent to about $2.6 million.  0.55 mills = about $1.43 million. 1.50 mills = about $3.9 million.

Last year at this time, the school board hosted a School District Budget Forum on April 2, 2013. You may remember that is when Elaine Cappucci was rude to Bill Matthews and me. Jo Posti called me a liar. See:

No way! UPDATED 2x
As promised, more on the budget forum Bill Matthews' presentation
I had it right, Josephine.

So while the Municipality is appealing assessments, the School District is secretly pulling a fast one while they talk about fake budgets. No school district budget forums this year. Welcome to Mt. Lebanon!

Update March 30, 2014 12:40 PM The website has been updated to read:
The Board discussed using a combination of cost reductions, increased revenues and use of fund balance to balance the budget.  After much discussion, the consensus of the Board was to look at the use of $500,000-$1 million in fund balance and a millage increase of approximately half a mill.

Oops. It was just another typo by our highly paid Director of Communications. A mill and a half vs. half a mill. What's the difference? Same same. I never heard back from any school board director.

great...great...great

While Timmy Tweets:

A principal from an award-winning middle school in the area submitted this opinion piece to today's Post Gazette, Slaying the Testing Beast.  Greg Taranto, the principal of Canonsburg Middle School, was named 2012 Middle Level Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.

Parents and educators must start speaking out and talking to our school districts, school boards and state and federal legislators. State and federal legislators are especially important, because they are the ones mandating tests such as the PSSA and the Keystones and thus tying the hands of district officials and school boards.

Instead of having breakfasts and pizza lunches with students (What's next? Nap time with preschoolers?), wouldn't it be "great" to have great parents and coffee - great combination - great way to start the day?

I am sure that parents would love to discuss how standardized tests are out of control with Timmy. Then there is the Keystone Report. Pennsylvania Teacher Union Lashes Out at Critics, Foes Timmy can perpetuate PSEA’s “Big Lie” that Corbett had cut $1 billion from state funding for K-12 education in Pennsylvania. 

Those are just two examples which should be on our super Super's radar, instead of pizza and breakfast.  A third topic over coffee might be our budget, but then we would have to call it Coffee and Kleenex. Wouldn't it be "great" if our superintendent would have more important matters on his mind besides food and talking magical frogs?