Center Court

Beautiful Day in Mt. Lebanon's History

2012-01-27T14:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony was spectacular. Click here to watch a video of the ceremony. Thank you to the students who helped make the day so special with their artwork, music and participation.

New Parking and Drop-off Routine Running Well

2012-01-24T17:38:00.000-05:00

After almost a week, it looks like our students have adjusted to their new parking location and "morning rush" traffic is back to normal. I either drive past the high school or drop students at the high school between 7:40 and 7:50 every morning and have been pleased with what I've observed and what administrators have shared with me during the past five school days. Yesterday morning, traffic was completely normal, despite the rain and today normal as well. There wasn't any congestion at all on Morgan, Stadium or Horsman Drives. Student pedestrians crossing from the Lutheran church were observing police and traffic signals and staying on the sidewalk along Cochran and also walking from the Dixon lot along Morgan Drive (with the exception of the Veteran's Memorial construction site, which they have to walk around.)

We're grateful for the municipality's cooperation and the good work of the police officers and crossing guards in helping everyone adjust to the new morning routine. I'm proud of our students' adaptability and focus on safety. While it appears that the community is adjusting, we look forward to addressing any concerns that arise during construction.

January Extra Mile Award: Peter Berg

2012-01-19T18:11:00.000-05:00

This month’s Extra Mile Award winner, Mr. Peter Berg, has been a strong advocate for our students since the moment he began working in the District as a guidance counselor.

Mr. Berg was nominated by a parent, who wrote about how he helped their family when a child was being bullied. Peter Berg took the parents’ concern about bullying seriously, stepped in to stop the bullying, and let it be known that bullying would not be tolerated. The parent wrote “I really believe that Pete genuinely cares about every student in this district.”

Another parent shared how Mr. Berg stepped in during a child’s medical crisis to support the child and the transition back to school. He took the time to learn about and understand the child’s complicated issues and dedicated many hours to helping the family get the necessary supports and work with the child’s teachers achieve a successful outcome. The parent wrote that Mr. Berg “told me many times that he’s just doing his job. He does it very, very well.”

Peter Berg’s concern for students, staff, and the operation of the high school is evident on a daily basis. He is in his office before others arrive, and is one of the last to leave the building each day. He has been instrumental in helping to ensure a smooth transition this school year as the administrative reorganization was implemented. Since the beginning of the school year, the high school has had a vacant unit principal position; Mr. Berg has done whatever is necessary to help fill the needs of that open position by going above and beyond to assist students who were not in his assigned unit to make sure their requests and needs are met.

Mr. Berg’s extra efforts each day, through his professionalism, care, organization and knowledge, help to preserve the smooth day to day operations of the Mt. Lebanon High School program.

New Student Parking Off to a Smooth Start

2012-01-18T09:57:00.000-05:00

Dr. Steinhauer was at the Lutheran Church this morning to observe how the new student parking site was utilized and how auto and pedestrian traffic flowed and said "things went exceptionally well." Mt. Lebanon Police and crossing guards were very visible and we're grateful to them for their help as students adjust to this new routine.

Today is a finals exam day so students are arriving at different times rather than all at once. It was a good test run rather than making the transition during a day with a regular schedule. Thanks to Mr. McFeely, his team and our community partners for helping to make sure things ran smoothly and will continue to do so.

In other news, the District received building, mechanical, grading and demolition permits today so expect to see trailers, fencing and other site materials very soon. We appreciate everyone's patience and cooperation as we turn the campus into an active job site.

MLK Day 2012

2012-01-16T11:38:00.000-05:00

“On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?" And Vanity comes along and asks the question, "Is it popular?" But Conscience asks the question "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Striking a Balance

2012-01-09T08:15:00.001-05:00

From PTA Council:

SAVE THE DATE

Mt. Lebanon PTA Council invites you to a community forum
Wednesday, February 8th, 7:00 to 9:00 PM

STRIKING A BALANCE:
Helping our kids THRIVE, not just survive.

Teens today face a balancing act -- academics, extracurricular activities, social pressures
and college admissions competition can be overwhelming.

Come ask our panel of experts how your family can handle this teen stress and learn some of the
tools we can use to help our young people lead happy and purposeful lives.

Please mark your calendar for Feb. 8th and stay tuned for more details regarding this timely parent education program sponsored by the PTA Council.

Pennsylvania American Water Stream of Learning Scholarship

2012-01-07T09:28:00.001-05:00

Because most of my readers are also Pennsylvania American Water customers, I wanted to share information about a scholarship program we started three years ago for graduating high school seniors. We created the Stream of Learning Scholarship program to provide post-secondary scholarship assistance to students living in the company’s service area who plan a course of study critical to the water and wastewater industry. (Their parents need to be PAW customers but the college or university the student attends does not need to be in one of our service areas.) If you know of any graduating seniors who are planning to study environmental science, biology, chemistry or environmental engineering, please encourage them to apply for one of ten $2,000 scholarships.

More information and an application are available here.

The Flipped Classroom

2012-01-05T17:54:00.009-05:00

Mary Niederberger reported in today's Post-Gazette about an initiative Mt. Lebanon and other districts are using called "the flipped classroom:"

"Pete Bouvy, a math teacher at Mt. Lebanon High School for 15 years, spent most of his career using his class time to lecture to his students and demonstrate how to work through problems. Then, he sent the students home to do their homework alone. But recently, he came across the concept of what is called the "flipped classroom" -- a practice that uses homework time for lectures and class time for homework."

This is one of many creative teaching strategies our teachers apply every day inside (and outside) of the classroom.

Thanks, Dan

2012-01-03T17:18:00.002-05:00

I learned recently that another Mt. Lebanon blog has ended its run. Dan Rothschild, author of lebodesign.net, was a member of the Community Advisory Committee that offered input into the high school design process and has followed the project's evolution throughout design and redesign. I appreciate the work he and others put into the CAC's recommendations, which were shared with the Board in 2009. I have valued his ability to ask us tough questions, challenge our assumptions and offer his perspective. His blog was an extension of numerous one-on-one and group conversations he's had over the years, questions asked during Board meetings and conversations he's had with other community members. While we haven't always agreed on every issue, I've always appreciated his perspective, his willingness to talk through issues in-person and the work he put into his blog. There has always been more we agree upon than disagree, built from a foundation that we love our community.

Publishing a blog is work. Mr. Rothschild took his seriously, providing accurate information, clarifying his positions when he received new information, moderating comments and offering resources to his readers. While he has offered criticism throughout the project, he did it respectfully and has also been quick to acknowledge decisions he agrees with. His work has helped to improve the project and to elevate the tone of public discussion on an important issue that impacts every member of our community.

Those of us who love our community understand the concept of living in community. Whether it's a town, a religious community or even a family, when you embrace being a part of something greater than yourself you recognize this often involves compromise and rarely works when one is combative or focused solely on private interests rather than the public or greater good.

A few months ago, the Municipality hosted a forum called "How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable." One of the things that the Post-Gazette's Tony Norman emphasized, and something I think people like Mr. Rothschild embrace, is "don't be in a crowd in a lynching." Mr. Rothschild used his blog not to bash those he disagreed with but to stay true to a position based on the notion that arguments are most effective when both sides understand the outcome: we are neighbors who will continue to live in a town that we love, interact with each other on ball fields, at the grocery store and at places of worship long after this project is complete.

Mr. Rothschild worked very hard on his blog; it's evident and he has much to be proud of. He has helped to make Mt. Lebanon a better community and I'm sure his blog is not the end of his service to a place we both love. But his contribution to our community was never limited to maintaining a blog. His contributions have included volunteer time for the District and his children's activities, conversations with his elected officials, participation in our democratic process and goodwill toward his neighbors - even those he disagrees with. He and I actually saw each other the night before bids were opened, both hopeful about the next day's results. He never hoped for failure.

I wish Mr. Rothschild and everyone in my community great things in the New Year. In 2012, I truly hope that everyone finds the joy in their lives that pride in their paid or unpaid work can offer, time in a real live community can develop and service to others can provide.

12.19.11 Board Report

2011-12-21T06:29:00.000-05:00

Good evening. Tonight, the Board will take action on accepting bids for the high school renovation project, a vote that has taken many years of planning, public input and deliberation. Most recently, the Board has worked with our staff, construction manager and architects to develop a number of cost reductions to allow us to successfully rebid the project after they came in over estimates in April. That six-month process required thoughtful, deliberate work on behalf of many of the people sitting here tonight and I wanted to take a minute to thank you. Your hard work has not only resulted in significant cost reductions but has helped to make this a better project.

I also want to thank my fellow Board members for their confidence in Mrs. Cappucci and me to provide leadership during 2012. Mrs. Cappucci has big shoes to fill; I’m grateful to Mr. Ostergaard for his work during 2011 as vice president and am grateful for the perspective he’s offered me during the past year, his counsel and his friendship. Mrs. Cappucci and I are both very excited about the strength our new Board members add to an already strong and experienced Board who are committed to working effectively through the challenges the District faces in 2012.

To help us accomplish the work before us, I’d like to announce initial committee appointments; as we see needs for additional responsibilities during the year I will share those appointments here. This year, Mr. Lebowitz will again chair our Policy Committee and will be supported by committee members Mary Birks and Scott Goldman. Mrs. Cappucci and Mr. Remely will continue to act as Board liaisons for the Master Design Team and Mr. Kubit will continue to serve as our representative to the Pathfinder School’s Board. I’ve asked Mrs. Cappucci to take on the responsibilities for Board Development and she will also continue to serve as NSBA liaison and on the Environmental Sustainability Board. Mr. Remely and Mr. Kubit will continue their terms on the Parkway West Board as designee and alternate. I’ve also asked Mr. Kubit and Mr. Ostergaard to act as the Board liaisons for the strategic plan and for Mr. Cooper to serve as our SHASDA representative.

At last week’s meeting, the Board began discussion of the budget for the 2012-13 school year. This week, I worked with Ms. Klein to outline the planning the Board has undertaken since 2005 to prepare for this year’s budget as well as some considerations for the future.

The reason I am going back to 2005 is that was the year that immediately preceded implementation of Act 1. At that time, school boards had tremendous latitude to provide programming consistent with the expectations of their communities and had the legal authority to levy taxes to fund that programming. Even with that flexibility, the Board at that time held the budget to a .42 mill increase. In order to keep the budget at that level, administrators reduced their budgets by five percent and reductions in programming were requested to see if no millage increase was possible. A Cost Benefit Committee met weekly to brainstorm cost saving and revenue enhancement ideas. Their ideas were prioritized and presented for Board review. Capital projects were funded from Bond Issues with allocations from the General Fund when funds were not available from bond proceeds. Our millage was ranked 11^th in the county of 43 taxing school districts. A new strategic plan was implemented that year to meet our mission to “provide the best education possible for each and every student.”

As we began preparing our 2006-2007 Budget, legislation both at the County and the State levels presented concern for our community. The County chose to revert the assessed values of all homes back to 2002 levels even though a reassessment had just been completed. This reversion created a hole in our revenue budget and created a need to levy an additional .38 mills to bring our revenue up to the prior year’s levels. Additionally, the State passed Act 1 of 2006 which limited school boards’ ability to levy real estate millage increases beyond an inflationary Index amount each year. While the budget for 2006-07 was not impacted by this new law, the Board at that time realized how the limitation would impact our ability to levy funds to pay for the cost of our upcoming high school renovation which was already in the early planning stages. To assure adequate funding for the high school project, the Board authorized issuance of $69 million in bonds, which was the debt limit at that time for our community. These bonds were not issued until 2009, but planning for them provided the Board the opportunity to fund them within the restrictions of the new law. The strategic plan was implemented that year and a Process Team met regularly to create indicators of fiscal health with data tracked annually. At that time our millage rate was twelfth in the county.

The 2007-08 Budget had no millage increase even though PSERS went up 10.38 percent, utility rate increases outpaced inflation due to hurricanes and wars in oil producing countries and we had a significant increase in ESL services that year. Funding for the capital budget was reduced to $100,000 and we planned to drop our fund balance below 6 percent. Administrators again cut their budgets. There was no change in our relative millage rank in the county. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the most recent recession began in December of that year.

2008-09 began the preparation of what we refer to as a Base Budget which only continues programs currently in existence. This action was taken to focus the Board and community on the cost of our basic education program without enhancements or eliminations of programs. Budget reductions were again requested to mitigate contractual increases in other areas. The resulting budget contained a millage increase of .25 mills and the budget only reflected an increase of 2.1 percent. The challenge that year was that investment earnings were down due to the volatile economy’s rapidly falling interest rates. Where we had been earning $1.7 million in investment income, we lost half of this amount. The millage increase did not quite make up for that loss of revenue. Fortunately there were 14 teacher retirements which helped us balance the budget that year with the small millage increase. Other districts experienced similar types of issues and our ranking in the county remained constant that year.

2009-10 continued in a similar fashion. The economic recession throughout the world continued to put stress on our revenue stream. The federal government stepped in to help all schools with stimulus funds which were intended to last two years. Analysts expected the economy to recover by then and we expected our regular revenue streams to return to more typical levels but it did not and our revenue stream would continue to struggle at historically low levels through 2011. Administrators evaluated programs which were not as high a priority and reductions were made to the base budget to bring the total budget in below the prior year. Many staff delayed their retirement plans hoping for an economic turn-around. With only six scheduled retirements, the budget was still out of balance. A .3 mill increase was needed to supplement continued low investment earnings and slow housing sales coupled with falling home prices.

The stimulus funding in 2009-10 continued into 2010-11, helping to fund the regular education program. But with the costs for architects and construction managers on the high school renovation growing, it was time to issue the $69 million in bonds approved back in 2006. The regular revenue stream was not able to absorb the cost of the first bond payments on those high school renovation bonds and the 72 percent increase in the PSERS retirement rate. The Board and administration had been informing the community for years of the cost of the first round of high school bonds and the sharply increasing rates for our retirement system so when a millage increase of 2.52 mills was necessary to fund these two cost issues, the community had been aware of the issues. Our millage rate in comparison with other school districts in the county rose to sixth as a result of this increase.

During the 2011 year, the interest rates on municipal bonds were low enough to refinance our 2004 Middle School Bonds. Good financial planning and counsel allowed us to realize savings from this refinancing that reduced the 2011-12 Budget by $500,000. This, along with 12 staff retirements, helped the Board approve a budget in 2011-12 with no millage increase. Again, the budget in total went down over $1 million, a 1.3 percent overall decrease. This was done in spite of more than $1 million in reduced state funding proposed by the Governor and an increase in the PSERS retirement rate by more than 50 percent. We moved down to seventh in the county in millage rate.

We continue to monitor the economic conditions and data which impact our revenue streams. Housing sales and home values continue to lag behind typical years, leading to reduced revenues in realty transfer tax revenue. Investment earnings are near zero and bring in only a small fraction of more typical earning levels. Only earned income tax is increasing at a healthy four percent rate of all our revenue streams. Reassessments will make calculation of tax rates difficult with inconsistent effects upon homeowners in our community.

What is certain is that each of these issues had been anticipated, discussed at public meetings, projected in multi-year financial forecasts and addressed within the school community and publicly at Board meetings each year.

We have planned, and continue to plan, for this and multiple years into the future through our strategic plan initiatives, instructional team meetings, community forums, and other ad hoc initiatives directed by the Board and superintendent.

It would be easier for us to be outwardly proactive if we had control over taxing rates each year. For example, when we knew the PSERS rate would spike, it would have been easier on the community to raise taxes a little each year to avoid a large increase in one year. Unfortunately, under Act 1 of 2006, we no longer have that ability. The inflationary Index caps our ability to raise taxes a little more than we need, yet allows us through exceptions to the Index to raise taxes for specific purposes ONLY in the year the large increase in cost is inescapable. Additionally, changes in legislation have made our five-year projections of cost obsolete as the laws invalidate our original assumptions. These factors, coupled with a historically devastating national economy has impacted all school districts. Historically, Mt. Lebanon has continued to invest in education even during the Great Depression and previous recessions and will continue to make prudent educational investments that offer solid returns on our community’s investments.

As the future unfolds, we will continue to make our forecasts with the best knowledge we have at the time and will share what we know with the community. And we will adjust our forecasts as additional information becomes available and as new legislation changes the financial world we live within. Some of that new information came last week when we learned that the high school renovation bids came in almost seven percent lower than projected. This will impact our forecasts for the better, reduce our future borrowing and be factored into our budget discussions during the next few months. We look forward to your feedback as we work to develop a budget that balances our mission with our community’s resources.

Now I’d like to turn it over to Mrs. Cappucci to present this month’s Extra Mile Award.

This month's Extra Mile Award actually goes to two people who have been critical to the District's success in rebidding the high school project. Over the past six months, Dr. Ron Davis and Mr. Rick Marciniak have been attached at the hip. They've worked diligently with the master design team to develop design solutions that continued to meet our programmatic needs while achieving significant cost savings to the project. Dr. Davis focused on how these changes would impact our students and staff and Mr. Marciniak's valuable counsel regarding material and structural possibilities helped us to re-imagine a plan that continues to provide an improved learning environment for our students, a well-designed, secure space for our staff and an investment on behalf of our community of which we can each be proud. Dr. Davis and Mr. Marciniak have worked diligently over the past few years with our architects, high school staff, administration, construction manager, municipal staff and the Board to redevelop a project that will serve generations of students in Mt. Lebanon. They spent thousands of hours reviewing the plans at each phase of the project and have patiently worked through many complex issues. Dr. Davis and Mr. Marciniak have well represented the interests of the District throughout this historic project. We are grateful for their careful oversight and the thoughtful work for our students and for our community.

Bids Awarded

2011-12-20T21:28:00.001-05:00

12/21/11 Update: the Almanac's coverage of the project appears here until next week but their copyrighted material is available only through the Almanac's paid archive service if you're following this link in the future.

Last night, the Board unanimously awarded construction bids for the high school renovation project. A breakdown of the bids is available here with coverage of the project details available here and here. Low bids came in 5.9 percent below estimates at $87,876,977. After a lengthy discussion last night, the Board rejected a number of alternates and accepted some, too, totaling $111,800. Those alternates include some aesthetic features as well as fully operable windows. One of the alternates that we rejected was the rifle range. The focus of that discussion was whether to include the range in the base bid or build it as a capital project for potentially less cost. We rejected the alternate to include it in the project but have maintained our options and will have further discussion about it next month during our capital projects discussion.

The building is going to be beautiful. We've spent the past two years discussing the functionality of the building, how it will be used to deliver curriculum and how the community will be able to use it. It will not only serve our students for many generations but will be a landmark everyone in our community can be proud to have invested in.

We hope many in the community can join us for a groundbreaking event on January 26 at 4:00 to celebrate this important milestone. The Board and the District are grateful to everyone who has played a role in the process. The ideas and feedback we've received during the past six years has helped to make this project one that serves the needs of our students in a manner consistent with our community's values.

As we move into construction the District will share information about site issues that will impact students, staff and visitors. We appreciate everyone's cooperation and patience in advance.

Renovation Bids Come in Low

2011-12-15T18:07:00.001-05:00

By now, you may have seen the Trib's report regarding yesterday's bid opening. Base bids for the seven construction contracts came in at $84,447,977, well below the construction manager's estimates of $91,579,000. On Monday, the Board will take action on accepting the base bids and will also consider alternates that can be added or further deducted from the project. While identification of the low bidder in certain categories may be determined by which alternates the Board accepts, any combination of additions or deducts will still result in a total package below our cost estimate.

I'm grateful for all of the hard work our staff, construction manager, architect and Board have done during the past six months to reach this point and am looking forward to Monday's discussion

Lagging in Performance: Pennsylvania Online Schools

2011-12-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting article in the New York Times this week about the performance of Pennsylvania's online charter schools along with a graphic of how they stack up individually and compared to public schools. The New York Times focused on K12 Inc., the largest online education provider and concluded, "a portrait emerges of a company that tries to squeeze profits from public school dollars by raising enrollment, increasing teacher workload and lowering standards."

12.12.11 Budget Discussion

2011-12-13T22:05:00.003-05:00

Monday night, the Board started budget discussions for the 2012-13 budget. Presentations from the meeting are available here. As you'll see from the presentation Ms. Klein gave, some of the challenges we face this year are the possibility of a lower Act 1 index (1.4% versus 1.7% last year), increases in PSERS contributions (43% increase over last year) and health care costs as well as the gap created by one-time bond refinancing in our current budget year. These factors all lead to a $2.4 million gap that needs to be filled either by cost reductions, a millage increase or a combination of both.

This year's budget challenge is one every school district in Pennsylvania faces. Some districts, like Upper St. Clair, have already started discussions about possible budget reductions they're considering in order to limit millage increases. Some of the possible reductions we've asked Dr. Steinhauer to examine include staffing assignments by grade level and within programs, support services, clerical support, technology investments, athletic and activity expenses, rental fees and student fees. We'll begin those discussions in January and look forward to the community's feedback regarding which of these possible reductions are acceptable.

How much is $2.4 million? Well, if we made a decision to do something radical like close an elementary school, that one-time reduction would only save a little over $1 million. To be clear, there was not Board interest in entertaining a discussion about closing a school to balance this budget; there was a lot of discussion last night about the opportunities we have to gather additional community input on systematic operational and programmatic shifts. The feedback we've received over the years through the strategic planning process, Harris surveys and program review teams has been helpful in that regard; we're going through another strategic plan this year, will have discussions next month about the work done by the four program review teams that convened this year and will discuss whether new teams should be developed in 2012 in addition to the strategic plan team or whether we need a different mechanism to help us evaluate programmatic effectiveness.

The limitations that Act 1 gives school boards are an opportunity for us to evaluate the effectiveness of programs implemented prior to Act 1. The year before I was elected, the Board approved a 2.60 mill increase, in large part to implement program changes such as elementary guidance counselors, reading specialists and the foreign language program in the elementary schools (FLES). To put the magnitude of that increase in perspective, the increase levied in 2010 to support the high school bond was 2.52 mills. Upper St. Clair is going through similar programmatic evaluations during this budget cycle, with School Director Lou Piconi saying at a recent meeting "Our conversation needs to turn, very quickly, to cutting programs. Clearly, it's the only option we have." (Please note that the PSERS increases mentioned in the article linked are incorrect. PSERS contributions are jumping from 8 to 12 percent this year, not by 12 percent. School districts will each experience a 43% increase in contributions this year.)

Our Board's preference seemed clear last night: Preserve our options in order to have more in-depth discussions during the next five months about the evaluate effectiveness of our current programs. One director suggested developing a multi-year plan for cost reductions and millage increases based on the five-year projection we currently work from. We'll have further discussion about how to accomplish such an exercise and whether it limits future boards' options at future meetings.

In the meantime, Board members chose to present a preliminary budget to the community in January with the intent to apply for Act 1 exceptions. Had the Board not taken this position, we would have taken action next Monday to not apply for the exceptions. Preserving our options for exceptions such as special education or PSERS allows us flexibility as we continue discussions with each other, our administration and the community with the goal of a final budget that finds a middle ground somewhere between $2.4 million in program cuts and using all of our exceptions to allow for a budget within $250,000 out of balance (about 1 mill increase). Neither of those extremes seemed acceptable to the Board during a lengthy discussion.

We have a great number of options available in order to meet somewhere in the middle, including using a part of our $2.3 million fund balance in addition to the other reductions I mentioned. We also have a hard-working, thoughtful Board committed to making difficult decisions while preserving our community's excellence in education. We're looking forward to the community's feedback.

World AIDS Day: Lebo Connection

2011-12-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was World AIDS Day, marking the 30-year anniversary of when the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported. While we've made some progress during those 30 years in terms of how the disease is prevented and treated, there's still work to be done to reduce it, especially in developing countries.

Mt. Lebanon alumnus Paul Brourman ('82) recently produced this video for the Clinton Foundation. It's the story of how AIDS has impacted one family in Malawi and how access to treatment has changed how their story ends.

341 Catering

2011-12-01T08:51:00.000-05:00

There's a really nice feature in today's Tribune-Review about 341 Catering, a life skills class that's teaching students with special needs important skills while providing a valuable service to their school. This program started with a grant from the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education and is self-sustaining through product sales.

11.21.11 Board Report

2011-11-28T18:00:00.001-05:00

This evening marks the end of Ms. Stipanovich and Mrs. Rose’s terms as school directors. We took some time last month to honor Mrs. Rose for her eight years serving our community and wanted to take a minute tonight to thank Ms. Stipanovich as well for her four years on the Board. I wanted to turn it over to Mrs. Cappucci for a minute to share with her and with our community how the Board would like to honor Faith for her contributions over the years.

During the next several months, the District will work with Bob Ewy, a consultant we’ve hired to help facilitate our new strategic plan. Mr. Ewy is a familiar face to many; the District worked with him to develop our last strategic plan and have found success in utilizing a Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning process method in order to achieve our goals.

The steps of the Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning process have been designed as a complete planning process. The plan will include the mission, vision, and core values of the district. It will identify the major challenges the district will need to address over the next six years, what priorities Mt. Lebanon community members identify as the most important skills and abilities students need to learn, and fiscal priorities. Based on community priorities, strategic goals are developed.

The strategic plan includes a strategy map that defines what strategies the district is going to use to achieve the mission, vision, goals, and student learning targets; a district balanced scorecard and dashboard, department, and school measures or indicators to track progress; a systems map so that everyone understands how all the functions of the district and the strategic plan fit together; and finally, a deployment plan that specifies how the plan moves to action.

We plan to engage in a high level of community involvement with planning teams consisting of a core, executive, and steering committees.

The purpose of the core committee is to be advisory to the chair or co-chairs of the steering committee during the entire process and to assist with the design of activities for each step in the process. The core committee is comprised of a small number of senior leaders in the district.

The purpose of the executive committee is to provide information to the steering committee at certain steps in the process and create a strategy map and balanced scorecard that the steering committee will review and add as components of the strategic planning document. The executive committee is comprised of all central office leaders and school principals in the district.

The purpose of the steering committee is to develop the strategic plan and transmit the completed plan to the superintendent for Board review and approval.

The Mt. Lebanon community-at-large will be invited to provide the critical information needed for the steering committee to make decisions about the focus and priorities that are defined in the strategic plan. This will include external scanning and survey information about what is most important for Mt. Lebanon to prepare for and address over the next six years. Community involvement in this strategic planning process is significant and essential. I’ve asked Faith Stipanovich and Al Frioni to chair the steering committee which will be comprised of community members representing each sector of our community.

To learn more about the process we’ll use, I encourage you to read Mr. Ewy’s book, entitled Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning in Education. The District has several copies available to borrow.
This evening, I’ve asked Ms. Stipanovich to present this month’s Extra Mile Award which we have the opportunity to present on the recipient’s birthday.

Holiday Gift Idea

2011-11-26T16:48:00.000-05:00

My mother and daughter recently bought me the new "Images of America Mt. Lebanon" book by the Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon. It's an interesting collection of photos broken into eight sections, including "People," "Sports and Recreation," "Businesses" and "Community and Events." My favorite section is "Schools" which chronicles the development of our community's ten schools, starting with Washington: "Although some thought Washington Public School was a wasteful extravagance and argued that the rural Mt. Lebanon would never need such a large school, a ground-breaking ceremony was held on September 28, 1921."

The book can be purchased online or in-person from the Historical Society at 200 Lebanon Avenue.

Stand Up For Public Education

2011-11-25T09:28:00.001-05:00

Monday, the Board screened a video produced by PSBA called "Stand Up for Public Education" that I encourage you to watch.

Public education is working in Pennsylvania yet public education is under assault, with funding currently being diverted from school districts and more diversions on the table for legislative consideration. The potential for expanded "school choice" options including vouchers for parents who choose to send their children to private and religious schools as well as the expansion of charter schools.

Currently, Mt. Lebanon has a very small number of students who attend charter schools compared to other districts yet their financial impact is more than $250,000 in Mt. Lebanon taxpayer funds that we're obligated to send to those schools. Those funds are based on our cost per student, not the actual cost per student to educate them in an alternative school.

What's most troubling to me is that many of the cyber and charter schools our local students attend have not met AYP. While our community demands that each of our ten schools meet AYP consistently (and rightfully so), funneling money to schools each year that do not isn't good fiscal policy to me, yet one of the many State mandates we're obligated to observe. I brought this up a couple of weeks ago as a possible topic for future discussion. School districts will continue to wrestle with difficult budget decisions each year as our PSERS obligation continues to rise. Increasing school choice mandates that funnel local dollars to schools that are sub-par to local districts is bad fiscal policy.

Not only is it bad fiscal policy, it's bad accountability policy. Some facts about cyber and charter schools:

Charter and cyber charter schools are not “free” as sometimes advertised. They are funded by tax dollars from local school districts.
Charter and cyber schools are not required to adhere to the same requirements that public school districts must follow like mandated curriculum, staffing ratios, financial transparency, RTK, etc.
Charter and cyber schools are not required to conduct a certified financial audit performed by an independent CPA. The state auditor general does not conduct audits of cyber and charter schools.
There is no process to correct or shut down a failing charter school or a charter school that has legal violations.
Many charter and cyber schools consider education a business for investment and profit. Financial arrangements involving taxpayer dollars should not be hidden from the public who fund these schools with taxpayer dollars.
The total cost per pupil expenditure for each school district in the state is forwarded to the receiving charter or cyber charter school. For example, Mt. Lebanon sends approximately $11,000 per regular education student and about $18,000 per special education student.
Disparities in costs per pupil expenditures from one school district to another are wide-ranging. For example, Mt. Lebanon pays about $11,000 per student but Clairton may pay $9,000 to send a child to the same charter school.
We do not know what the actual cost of educating a cyber or charter school student is. If their cost is $5,000 per student, they are netting about $5,000. from the Mt. Lebanon taxpayer.

Luckily, the impact current and proposed school choice legislation has on Mt. Lebanon is minimal compared to other local districts. Some districts lose millions of local dollars each year to charter schools without the ability to decrease their staffing proportionately.

What isn't on the legislative agenda is a solution to the PSERS spike. This is one of the most significant budget factors school districts are facing and the State has a stake in addressing it. (They currently pay half of the PSERS obligation with school districts funding the other half.) Just as the legislature's decision in 2002 to delay fully funding PSERS has resulted in an increase to that line item by more than 700% since I was elected, their decision to expand vouchers and charter school authorization will have long-term consequences to school budgets as well, all without any data to support that this funding mechanism will improve student achievement in the districts that are funding vouchers and charter schools.

Where Your Tax Dollars Go: Charter Schools That Haven't Made AYP

2011-11-23T17:24:00.012-05:00

Last week, the Board reviewed the timeline for the 2012 budget process. Because it's a presidential election year, the process starts earlier than usual per Act 1 requirements. The key dates are:

December 19, 2011 Action on Resolution "not to exceed index" if desired

January 23, 2012 Action to approve Preliminary Budget in order to be able to apply for exceptions and Board reviews list of Capital Projects
February 27, 2012 Action to approve Capital Projects Budget
March 12, 2012 First look at Proposed Budget
March 26, 2012 Discussion on Proposed Budget (additional meeting)
April 2, 2012 Board review of revised Proposed Budget
April 16, 2012 Board action on Proposed Budget
May 7, 2012 Budget Forum on Proposed Budget if desired (additional meeting)
May 14 2012 Board meeting to discuss changes for Final Budget
May 21, 2012 Board action to approve Final Budget

This schedule means that new Board members could be taking action on the "not to exceed index" at their first regular meeting. Luckily, Ms. Stipanovich has developed a new mentorship program for new Board members in order to help them get up to speed and answer questions about the many issues they need to understand as soon as they take office. This program will supplement the program already in place that includes briefings with administrators as well as a tremendous amount of reading material that new Board members are provided.

The Board also heard the Student Outcomes Report and a presentation last week given by the Staffing Review Team. This team, along with the three other review teams convened this year, did an analysis of one particular area of District operations and then offered a number of alternatives that could result in significant cost savings for the District. This team's job was the most difficult for two reasons: one, all of the recommendations developed by this team impact people and two, they made them without a program review taking place first. This is an important step since most of the recommendations potentially impact how we deliver education and an analysis of the possible academic impact of the curricular changes the group suggested. Some included re-configuring elementary schools into K-2 and 3-5 buildings in order to better balance class sizes and making changes to the middle school team configuration as well as middle school English classes.

I'm grateful to the group for their work and for helping the community understand the challenges we face when considering significant budget reductions. Dr. Steinhauer is now tasked with evaluating their recommendations and providing the Board with his recommendations once factors such as academic achievement, contractual obligations, transportation, community needs and logistics are taken into account. Ideas suggested by this team as well as the capital projects, utilities and revenue generating teams can all be taken into account in developing future budgets.

It's important to recognize that the budget issues Mt. Lebanon faces would exist regardless of whether we were engaged in the high school renovation project. The impact increased PSERS and healthcare obligations as well as reduced state funding have on school budgets are challenges for every school district in Pennsylvania. Our neighbors in Upper St. Clair have started their budget discussions and anticipate "difficult, painful cuts" as they make decisions for their community's tax payers. North Allegheny is considering options such as early retirement incentives and accepting tuition students in order to account for their $5 million budget shortfall. Peters Township is considering a 3-mill tax hike due to a $1.7 million deficit. Pittsburgh Public Schools continue to close buildings and furlough teachers as they prepare their new budget. As each of us makes decisions over the next two months regarding our preliminary budgets, we do so without any information about state funding, class selections, retirements, reassessments or changes in legislation that impact our budget.

As we head into budget discussions, we want your feedback. Our legislators need your feedback, too. School directors throughout Pennsylvania have encouraged our state lawmakers to focus on solutions to the PSERS crisis for as long as I've been on the Board but have not seen any meaningful legislation introduced that will address an issue that all of us - school districts and the Commonwealth who share the cost of this benefit - have a stake in solving. Instead, the focus is currently on "school choice" legislation that further erodes school district budgets without academic or financial accountability to local taxpayers.

Share your thoughts about legislative priorities and their potential impact to local schools by contacting Rep. Matt Smith and Sen. John Pippy.

High School Project Out to Bid

2011-11-03T21:50:00.000-04:00

Today, the invitation to bid was advertised in the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review. You can read the advertisement here and see a breakdown of the seven contracts included in the package. They are General Construction Work, HVAC, Plumbing, Fire Protection, Electrical, Architectural Casework and Asbestos. The pre-bid meeting for contractors will be November 16 with bid opening and action on acceptance by the Board in December.

I've received a couple of inquiries from residents who wanted information about details of the project as it stands today and suggest reviewing this presentation for specific details. From what I understand, there may be some confusion from a letter a school board candidate recently mailed (I did not receive the letter so if the information I've received is incorrect, please let me know) that indicated that the tennis courts have been eliminated from the renovation project. They have not been eliminated from the project. They are listed, along with ten other items, on a list of alternates for future consideration by the Board once bids have been received. The tennis courts, along with other athletic amenities such as the auxiliary gyms and pool are all a part of the base budget.

Auditor General Jack Wagner Issues Report That Charter Schools Overcharge School Districts

2011-10-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

Pennsylvania school districts pay too much money to send students to charter and cyber charter schools, said Auditor General Jack Wagner to parents and representatives from all 13 Bucks County school districts who gathered Thursday night at William Tennent High School for a forum about public school funding.

"The average cost for a charter school student's education is $5,000," said Wagner. "Districts on average pay about $10,000. Whenever you hear an ad on the radio for a charter school, that's your extra taxpayer money at work."

Get to Know Your School Board Candidates

2011-10-30T15:16:00.000-04:00

The Mt. Lebanon PTA Council has asked each School Board candidate to submit responses to a questionnaire in order to help voters learn more about their positions on various issues. Please take some time to view the answers from those who responded here and don't forget to vote on November 8.

Amigos Para Siempre

2011-10-24T21:27:00.003-04:00

I had the honor of joining Rep. Matt Smith and Commissioner Brumfield at Howe Elementary School today for “Amigos Para Siempre (Friends Forever)," an assembly to welcome Sra. Claudia Lopez Zapata and two of her fifth grade students visiting Mt. Lebanon during the next two weeks from Escuela No. 65 Eduardo Víctor Haedo in Mercedes, Soriano, Uruguay. During their visit, they will stay with host families from Howe and Foster and spend time at each school as well as other activities throughout the community.

You can watch the assembly on Channel 19. The highlight was definitely watching Mr. Kukic and Mrs. Charrie tango; they learned from Billy Hartung at the Center for Theatre Arts just for the assembly. The assembly, which included vocal and instrumental music from How's fifth graders, was streamed live to Escuela No. 65 in Uruguay.

A rough translation of a part of what I told our guests and the students was, "Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhoods. We hope that you enjoy your time in ours and we're happy that each of you is here."

PTA Council Celebrates 75th Anniversary

2011-10-22T07:19:00.000-04:00

Monday, we had the opportunity to honor the presidents of each of our schools' PTAs. This is the Mt. Lebanon Township Council of PTA's 75th Anniversary and you can read more about it here. Some of the highlights:

"Over the years, PTA has been a tireless advocate for our children and our schools. The legacy of this organization is a powerful reminder of the positive impact parent involvement can have in schools. Here are just a few of the important contributions Mt. Lebanon PTA has made over the years:

•1936-As a result of PTA support, diphtheria testing is carried out in all Mt. Lebanon schools.
•1942- The PTA was a leader in the war effort on the home front through the sale of war bonds and stamps. Mt. Lebanon students purchases $75, 000 of war stamps which provided over 40 jeeps for the army.
•1943- PTA establishes a U.S.O. Canteen service and manages the community registrations for war ration books.
•1951-PTA creates a Civil Defense Committee and trains 800 adults in the community in first aid.
•1952-PTA mounts a campaign to support a $2.5 million school bond issue for major additions to the high school that include classrooms, science labs, modern library, cafeteria, gymnasium, swimming pool and auditorium. The bond issue passed by a 3 to 2 margin.
•1954-PTA Council produces and distributes a brochure listing the candidates for the Mt. Lebanon School Board and their views.
•1955-PTA Council petitions the Township Commissioners and County Commissioner urging them to pave Bower Hill Road so sidewalks can be installed for safe walking."

Mt. Lebanon is blessed to have such a high level and history of volunteerism in our schools and are a better District because of the many initiatives PTA has taken on over the years.

The Steve Jobs Model for Education Reform

2011-10-21T06:03:00.001-04:00

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal and how much capacity technology has for unleashing students' imaginations. "Let's be clear: Technology is never going to replace teachers. What technology can do is give teachers closer, more human and more rewarding interactions with their students. It can give children lesson plans tailored to their pace and needs. And it can give school districts a way to improve performance in the classroom while saving their taxpayers money."

Read more about the technology initiatives going on every day in our classrooms in yesterday's P-G. One of the most exciting is the BYOT pilot at the High School, allowing students to bring the technology they're most comfortable using to school with them for use in class. Imagine what our students will do.

Nobel Prize for Kindness?

2011-10-20T19:41:00.001-04:00

In case you missed it, read this "Local Dispatch" that ran in Wednesday's Post-Gazette. It's a great description of the kindness we each experience in Mt. Lebanon every day and often take for granted. After spending the morning at Potomac Bakery with her father, Lisa McGinnis observes, "Kindness was being served up, every morning, with no glittering prize attached. This gesture of human kindness was also a monumental thing and it was happening right in front of me. There is also greatness in small things, even in an ordinary cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee."

New Student Communications Policy

2011-10-19T17:54:00.001-04:00

Monday, the Board took action on a new Student Communications Policy that's been in development for several months. The Policy Committee has spent much of the year working with the district's technology director, legal counsel and other staff to develop a policy that encourages responsible communication via email and social media among students and District personnel. The background reads:

"Excellent communication between District staff and students greatly enhances our students’ learning. Accordingly, the District recognizes the ubiquity of electronic mail, text messaging, social networking and other means of digital communication in personal and professional interactions. This policy is intended both to encourage these means of communication and provide employees and others with the District’s expectations for communicating in these manners with all students – namely that all student communications are used solely to support the educational mission of the School District in providing the best education possible for each and every student.

The District also recognizes that there are a growing number of social networking applications being developed and purchased for use within the District. These applications provide a safe place for students to learn appropriate online behavior while at the same time enhancing their learning both inside and outside of our classrooms."

It's a good policy and the result of many hours of thoughtful, deliberate work from the Policy Committee, chaired by Mr. Lebowitz. Their approach was to recognize that a lot of the instances covered in the policy are already happening without policy in place. How can we set guidelines that support our educational mission without being too restrictive? They took into account circumstances such as volunteer coaches who are not District employees as well as the fact that we live in a community where students interact with staff as babysitters, grass-cutters and neighbors.

The Policy Committee has pursued an aggressive schedule this year, revising eight policies, reviewing one and writing three new policies on Board Teleconferencing and Unlawful Harassment in addition to this most recent one. Mr. Lebowitz mentioned Monday that they plan to review our background check policy in light of some new state legislation that was recently enacted. Their next meeting is November 1 at 4:30 in Conference Room B at the High School if you're interested in learning more.

2011 State of the District Report

2011-10-19T12:36:00.015-04:00

Monday, I gave an overview of the state of the district. Throughout the Commonwealth, 2011 has been a challenging year for school districts surrounded with uncertainty and difficult decisions. State budget cuts, new legislation and cuts to programs and people has changed how many districts deliver education to their communities’ children and how well prepared those students are as a result. Despite this uncertainty, 2011 has been a very successful year for Mt. Lebanon.

I shared our academic and financial issues, enterprise-wide initiatives, the renovation project timeline, technology highlights and highlights from some of our continuous improvement efforts. Watch the video or read the presentation to see what the District has accomplished so far in 2011 and what's ahead.

As I mentioned Monday, "despite a challenging time for public education, my prediction is that Mt. Lebanon will not only survive but thrive. To do that, we have people in place who know that each tiny decision they make is just one more opportunity to passionately and obsessively move the District in the right direction, not the common direction. I’m grateful to my fellow Board members for encouraging a culture of continuous improvement that provides our administrative team and faculty with the direction and tools needed to improve student achievement, encourage excellence on stage and on the field and embrace operational efficiencies that provide our community with tremendous value for their educational investment."

Mt. Lebanon Alumnus on Bullying

2011-10-17T06:19:00.002-04:00

In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, I thought I'd share a video fellow Mt. Lebanon alumnus Joe Manganiello made for ItGetsBetter.org, a project started last year by syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage in response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school due to their real or perceived sexual orientation.

From ItGetsBetter.org:
"Eleven months later, the It Gets Better Project (TM) has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring more than 25,000 user-created videos viewed more than 40 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of "Glee", Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.

The website www.itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future. It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members. It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help through the Trevor Project and GLSEN."

Bullying: Why Policy Matters

2011-10-16T16:59:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned here, Anderson Cooper has produced a number of segments in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month that have aired on CNN. One story highlights a school district in Minnesota that does not allow teachers to discuss homosexuality in school. Four teens, who are suing the district to get the policy changed, recently spoke to Anderson Cooper about how the policy maintains a hostile environment for them and other students despite the district having a bullying policy in place as well.

We have a number of District policies that address the issues raised in the segment, including our Student Code of Conduct and policies on Sexual Harassment - Students and Unlawful Harassment. We spell out the investigative and disciplinary procedures in our Bullying Policy as well as the expectation that all employees "observe and be aware of bullying and to take immediate, appropriate steps to intervene. The employee shall report the bullying to the school principal or appropriate supervisor. In addition, the District expects students and parents who become aware of bullying to report it to any principal, assistant principal, other administrator, guidance counselor, psychologist, teacher or school nurse for further investigation."

These are important policies that are regularly reviewed with input provided by District staff. The Bullying Policy is one that Pennsylvania school districts are required to develop and to enforce and is on a three-year revision cycle.

The Bully Project

2011-10-15T18:01:00.001-04:00

From thebullyproject.com:

"This year, over 18 million American kids will be bullied, making it the most common form of violence young people in the U.S. experience. Directed by Sundance- and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, The Bully Project is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary—at its heart are those with the most at stake and whose stories each represent a different facet of this bullying crisis.

Following five kids and families over the course of a school year, the film confronts bullying's most tragic outcomes, including the stories of two families who've lost children to suicide and a mother who waits to learn the fate of her 14 --year-old daughter, incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With rare access to the Sioux City Community School District, the film also gives an intimate glimpse into school busses, classrooms, cafeterias and even principles offices, offering insight into the often-cruel world of children, as teachers, administrators and parents struggle to find answers.

While the stories examine the dire consequences of bullying, they also give testimony to the courage and strength of the victims of bullying and seek to inspire real changes in the way we deal with bullying as parents, teachers, children, and in society as a whole. Through the power of these stories, The Bully Project aims to be a catalyst for change and to turn the tide on an epidemic of violence that has touched every community in the United States—and far beyond."

Bullying: It Stops Here

2011-10-14T18:53:00.004-04:00

In honor of Bullying Prevention Month, CNN's Anderson Cooper has been doing a great series this week on bullying, why it happens, how it can be prevented and how it effects those who are bullied. It's an issue that every school district deals with, some more effectively than others. It happens in school and outside of school; online and on the playground.

It's an important issue to each of us. Whether you're a child being bullied, a parent, or a child or adult who's acting as an aggressor, it's an issue we each need to recognize as harmful. Not only is it harmful to the one being bullied but it's harmful to the bully. Their cowardly aggression prevents them from developing meaningful, authentic relationships, often well into adulthood. And the harm done to the bullied sometimes has devastating, irreversible consequences.

Watch this video. I'll share more during the next week.

Why I Send My Children to Public Schools

2011-10-13T07:32:00.002-04:00

Robert Niles wrote a great editorial for the Huffington Post about why he's chosen to send his children to public schools rather than private or charter schools:

"I'm sending my children to public schools because I don't believe in the people who are attacking our public schools. Sending my children to public schools is the ultimate sign of support, and helps keep me more deeply involved in a precious public resource that needs, and deserves, our support."

Amended Development Agreement Approved

2011-10-12T19:40:00.013-04:00

Last night, the Commission approved (4-1, Kluck dissenting) an Amended and Restated Development Agreement between the District and the Municipality for the Mount Lebanon High School Additions and Renovations Land Development Plan. I've had a couple of people ask me what this means.

The Commission's resolution states: "The Mount Lebanon High School Additions and Renovations Land Development Plan application and a Developer's Agreement were approved February 8, 2011. Pursuant to such approval, the Owner furnished a Sequestered Account Agreement to secure the completion of certain improvements. The Owner has requested certain modifications to the approved plans consistent with section 609 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, thereby necessitating the need to amend and restate the developer's agreement."

Basically, this allows the District to adjust the sequestered account balance per the revised drawings which were only 95% complete when the account was established in February. This motion was the Commission's approval of the District's additional deposit of $684,200 into this account, which has been established to provide funding for any unforeseen private improvements that may be necessary as a part of the renovation project. This increases the amount that the Municipality has required the District to hold in escrow to more than $14.5 million. In the event that none of it is needed, it will be released back to the District at the completion of the project. This action really had nothing to do with approval of the project but approval of an increased amount in an escrow account that the Municipality has required the District to maintain.

10.10.11 Architects' Update

2011-10-12T06:07:00.001-04:00

On Monday, Tom Celli shared elevation images, a revised timeline and PJ Dick shared a phasing schedule with the Board. We are scheduled to go back out to bid on October 26 with bids opened on December 7. The Board would then take action on the Intent to Award at the December 12 meeting with groundbreaking occuring in January.

We reviewed product samples for the metal exterior, dark brick and light brick that are identifed in the elevation drawings. They have been chosen for color (they will closely match the existing brick on the buildings that will remain) as well as the amount of recycled material used.

If you look at the preliminary phasing schedule, you'll see that the timeline for some work has been relaxed due to feedback we received after the first bid. You'll also notice that asbestos abatement of the Fine Arts wing is scheduled to occur between June and October, 2012. This is the only abatement work that is planned during a time that school will be in session and is possible because the wing is now and will remain inaccessible from the rest of the building as well as the contractor's ability to seal this wing completely from outside access. It will be sealed approximately at the Pumpkin Room and only accessible to workers from entrances that will not be accessible to student or faculty traffic. As we get closer to that portion of the phasing, we have the opportunity to bring an asbestos consultant to a public meeting in order to provide details and answer questions. PJ Dick has had extensive experience managing complex abatement projects such as ours, including hospitals that housed patients during abatement.

As this schedule changes due to weather and unforseen circumstances, the District will provide updates to the community.

Great Academic News

2011-10-11T17:54:00.000-04:00

Last night, Dr. Allen and Dr. Davis gave a presentation about the District's most recent academic achievements. A couple highlights? In addition to obtaining AYP in all ten buildings, the District's PSSA Composite Score is the highest in three years in all areas, the SAT scores are the highest in five years in all subject areas and the ACT scores are the highest in three years in English, Reading, Math, and Composite. You'll be hearing more on these and the District's success in other measurements next week and next month.

Congratulations to our students; their achievements are impressive. Thank you to our faculty and administration for their commitment to continuous improvement.

Information Regarding Vouchers From PSBA

2011-10-10T17:55:00.000-04:00

PSBA has asked school districts to share the following information with our communities about an important issue before the legislature this session.

The Issue: Taxpayer-Funded Tuition Vouchers

While the majority of Pennsylvanians have shown that they are opposed to the use of local taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers to send a child to nonpublic and private schools, voucher proponents continue to place pressure on the legislature to enact legislation as early as this fall. We believe that vouchers are unaffordable, unaccountable, unproven, unconstitutional and unpopular for taxpayers. To find out much more about vouchers, click here.

The latest public opinion poll results

Pennsylvanians continue to oppose vouchers and express satisfaction with their local public schools. Last week, the results of the latest public opinion poll on vouchers were released, and for the third time in a year, the public has overwhelmingly said “no” to spending tax dollars to send children to private or parochial schools. The results show that 65% of Pennsylvanians opposed using taxpayer monies to support private school tuition. In addition, the poll found that the closer and more involved Pennsylvanians are with their community schools, the more satisfied they are with their school. In fact, over 2/3 of Pennsylvanians (67%) are satisfied with the quality of their community schools. In addition, regardless of age, Pennsylvanians are satisfied with their schools overwhelmingly. The survey showed that both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly are satisfied with their local schools, 73% and 69%, respectively and when asked what grade they would give the public schools in Pennsylvania for improving student academic achievement, 47% of Pennsylvanians gave public schools an A or B. Less than 7% gave schools a failing grade.

The complete survey results are posted on PSBA’s website. The postings include a news release, voucher poll results,community school poll results, and charts detailing complete poll results.

PSBA’s Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel said, “Overall, Pennsylvanians are pleased with the performance of their local school districts. This satisfaction is another reason Pennsylvania should not be pulling millions of tax dollars out of public education and diverting it to religious or parochial institutions or into the hands of private entrepreneurs who see education as a money making opportunity.”

Columbus Day 2.0

2011-10-10T04:04:00.000-04:00

Today is a holiday in large part because of the discovery an explorer made with very limited technology. Although students won't be in school today, teachers will. Today's in-service at the High School will be a conference-style program called Creating Future Classrooms Today. The agenda looks great; the format is "green" (teachers are encouraged to bring their own laptop, iPad, iPod, SmartPhone, or any other device that can receive the MTLSDGuest wireless network to school for the day) and Stevan Vigneaux of Mimio Interactive will be the keynote speaker.

The 30 sessions include "Use Your Interactive White Board and Student Devices to Increase Cognitive Interaction," "Cracking the Code, QR Codes," "Create a Video Lecture Series Using Screen Capture" and "The 4G Classroom" with many new teachers presenting. I wish I could sit in but will be able to follow the day on the Wiki developed for the event as well as Twitter via #MTLHSTech.

There are a lot of exciting things happening with technology in the District and days like today will lead to even better ways for our students to learn.

Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T17:58:00.000-04:00

He made something as impersonal as technology very personal and changed how we work, learn, and connect. Everything is different because of the device you're reading this on. He changed how we see the misfits and the rebels.

“For something this complicated, it’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” [Businessweek, May 1998]
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. [Wired, February 1996]

“I don’t want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers. I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever. Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will help them get paid, I am all for.” [All Things Digital, June 2010]

“It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.” [The Wall Street Journal]

"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

Reminder: Absentee Ballots

2011-10-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

What are you doing November 8? If you anticipate being out of town, now's the time to make sure you're registered to vote and obtain an absentee ballot if you're unable to vote in person.

If you or someone in your family need an absentee ballot, you can download one here and mail it back. Share the link with college students who are registered to vote locally. Registered voters who are not able to get to the polls because they are ill or disabled, observing a religious holiday, or are absent from the municipality on election day due to work or school, can vote by abesentee ballot. Ballots must be requested by Tuesday, November 1st and be returned to the County by Friday, November 4. Ballots can be mailed, sent overnight, or delivered in person.

If your child will turn 18 between now and November 8, they'll first need to register to vote by filling out the Voter Registration Application found here. Voters must be registered by October 11 in order to vote in the November 8 election.

image: Shepard Fairey

Back to School / Back in Legislative Session

2011-09-28T05:54:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, the Centre Daily Times published an editorial by Brad Siegfried, "Support public education by opposing vouchers" that highlights one of the many issues school directors across the Commonwealth share regarding Governor Corbett's education agenda:

"According to national test scores, Pennsylvania has among the best public schools in the country, and recent polls demonstrate that the public is very supportive of local public schools. Yet the governor is intent on stripping more money from public schools and creating a new costly, unproven taxpayer-funded voucher program for private schools."

Last week, Mrs. Birks shared the following as a part of her PSBA report at our Regular Meeting:

"We received results from a poll conducted by Phi Delta Kappa International and Gallup whose findings showed that Americans, and parents in particular, evaluate their community schools more positively than in any year since the poll started asking Americans to grade local schools in 1984. An all-time high of 37% of parents give their child's school an A grade, up sharply from 19% in 2007. Just 1% of parents assign a failing grade to their child's school.
While most Americans hold low opinions of the nation’s schools, they rate their public school teachers more highly now than they have in the past. More than 70 percent of Americans say they have trust and confidence in public school teachers. While the public feels positive about their local teachers, they hold a less favorable opinion of governors and teacher unions. PDK Executive Director William Bushaw states that “This year’s PDK/Gallup poll shows that Americans believe the key to good schools is high-quality teachers. Interestingly, they have mixed opinions whether state governors or education leaders are the ones who can better ensure that our schools provide the quality they expect.” Thirty six percent of Americans believe that lack of financial support is the biggest problem facing schools.
In an opinion piece published in the Pottstown Mercury, George Bonekemper wrote in part “The continuing battle over taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers, fueled by wealthy out-of-state billionaires, has become a distraction from more important political action items, including developing the commonwealth's economy, creating new jobs, and continuing the under-reported academic progress made by public schools in recent years.
Taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers are unconstitutional in the commonwealth, unwanted by the public, unproven in promoting student achievement, untimely in a shrinking economy, and unaccountable to the public in governance, finance, and academic results. The only real choice is the schools, who determine whether they do or do not admit students.” Stay tuned—this conversation will continue in Harrisburg throughout the fall.
We also received analysis from the Education Law Center on both SB 904 and HB 1348, Charter School Reform bills which are both in education committees at this time. Public hearings were held in August and PSBA was a participant at those hearings.   On August 25, the House Education Committee traveled to Langhorne, PA to receive public input on House Bill 1369 which would repeal the existing “Collective Bargaining” article of the Public School Code and establish a new article that would be known as the “Strike Free Education Act.” That bill is also in education committee at this time.
PDE news:
On August 19, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced the state has earned the highest level possible in meeting requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA for FY2009.)   According to PDE’s press statement, Pennsylvania is the only large state to achieve the “meets requirements” status, as well as being one of fourteen states to receive this determination. Pennsylvania has earned this determination four times in the past five years.
On August 23, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis announced the award of $66 million in federal School Improvement Grants to twenty-six of Pennsylvania’s lowest performing schools.
In National news:NSBA expressed disappointment with the recent vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to provide $300 million in additional federal funds to support charter schools.
The House voted 365 to 54 in favor of H.R. 2218, the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act, which expands a federal program to provide state grants for charter school start-ups. NSBA had urged members of Congress to reject the bill.
I have had one meeting with Representative Matt Smith, will be reaching out to meet with Senator Pippy, and since I learned today I have just been appointed as a member of the NSBA’s Federal Relations Network, I will also be contacting U.S. Representative Murphy and our Senators Casey and Toomey to arrange meetings with their staff to discuss education legislation which affects how we educate our students here in MTL."

There are many education issues our legislature will debate this year. Some directly impact the District, some impact poor or low-performing districts in the Commonwealth who each contribute to our collective success. Take some time to understand the issues, how they impact us, our neighbors and our ability to offer financial and academic accountability to taxpayers and to our students.

9.19.11 Board Report

2011-09-20T08:43:00.000-04:00

This evening, the Board will take action on approval of PlanCon Part F, for submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, along with the construction documents, including Project drawings and specifications (note: passed, 8-1). This is the culmination of months of work we have undertaken, together with District staff, our architects and construction manager to identify potential cost savings that would allow us to re-bid the project. The most significant reductions identified are the elimination of one floor of G Building as the result of a recent administrative reorganization and changes to the MEP system that will still provide a substantially more energy-efficient plant but without meeting the specifications that would qualify for Silver LEED certification. Our goal has been to identify cost savings that will potentially reduce bids by at least $16 million while maintaining the functionality and design of the plan that has been developed over the course of four years. If approved this evening, we should expect to rebid the project next month and to review new bids before Thanksgiving, breaking ground before the end of the year.

Tonight, I wanted to take a minute to recognize someone who many of us think about when we think about our mission, “to provide the best education possible for each and every student.” Another way of saying this is to do everything that we can to ensure that each of our children maximizes his or her potential. Perhaps no one in our district does this better than the recipient of this month’s Extra Mile Award, Pete DiNardo.

Throughout most of his tenure, he has taught AP US History. As our students will attest, this is one of the most difficult courses many of them take during their high school careers. It prepares them well for what lies ahead of them in college. He’s been the driving force behind this course and is a legend among his students. He’s admired, respected and beloved by the students brave enough to take on the challenge of APUSH. Mr. DiNardo believes it’s his responsibility to push his students to the limit to make sure they maximize their potential and pushes them beyond where they think they can be. He does this through tireless devotion top his students and his craft. More specifically, Mr. DiNardo spends endless hours preparing new and exciting materials for his class, working with students both during and after regular school hours (including teaching evening sessions when either the curriculum or students require it) as well as grading both exams and his very well-known term paper.

Many of us know students who have been taught by Mr. DiNardo and find that he’s frequently described as one of their favorites. One Board member described Pete’s class as “the hardest and most demanding course of (his son’s) high school career. Yet it was the most rewarding. Most importantly, it honed his skills in reading, writing, and research which served him well in college.” Another shared the things that made him a favorite between both of her children: “For one, the class and the intelligent, lively discussions only sharpened her love of history; Pete made it come alive, and it allowed her to find her voice. For my son, who was not a huge fan of history, the class made him go farther than he thought he could, with research, group discussions and high expectations. It was THE class, he would later tell me, that prepared him for the rigor of college life. Another student shared that Mr. DiNardo’s course was harder than any course she took at her very competitive college. Students leave this class knowing that they have pushed themselves to the limit.

Somehow, he also finds time to sponsor the Emergency Club and volunteer with Forensics and his son’s and daughter’s soccer teams. Emergency’s mission is to educate students on the contemporary issues of world health and discuss the problems, causes, and possible responses to these issues. Those responses have made an impact not only on our students but for communities around the world. One of Emergency’s signature events was their Walk For Water in 2009, a community event that brought attention to the need for clean water in Africa and the impact limited water supplies has on women and children in Sudan. This event included bringing in Benjamin Ajak, author of "They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky" and one of the refugees called "Lost Boys of Sudan" and hosting a community event at the stadium that raised over $6,000. Last year, Water for Sudan drilled a well, named by our students, “Lebo H2OPE”in the village of Malek Amal in the Jur River County, Western Bar El Ghazal State. At the time, Mr. DiNardo said, " To see the fruits of this labor and know that this village has access to fresh water brings me a great deal of satisfaction and also provides a concrete success to share with and motivate a new generation of Mt. Lebanon students." Mr. DiNardo, you motivate our students in and outside of the classroom and make a meaningful impact on your local community as well as communities in other parts of the world. Thank you.

Baldwin: Where Your Tax Dollars Are Going

2011-09-14T18:19:00.000-04:00

Monday, during our review of financial items, I asked Ms. Klein for some additional detail on the expenses incurred for five District students who have chosen to attend a new charter school this year. The Post-Gazette recently reported on a new charter school in Baldwin that has enrolled students from local school districts, including Mt. Lebanon ("Some practices questioned at Baldwin charter school"). The focus of the school's curriculum is international understanding giving elementary students the option of learning two languages rather than our one. While the school claims to be one in which students with foreign roots can learn about American life while local kids get a global perspective, the majority of students are from local school districts, including Pittsburgh Public Schools. In terms of students with foreign roots, only 12 students in the school are English learners compared to Mt. Lebanon's 57 as of September 1. The article raises some questions about the school's management practices as well as the curriculum model it employs.

Whether you have a child enrolled in the charter school or not, you're helping to pay for it. This year, five Mt. Lebanon students have enrolled in the school, a $50,000+ hit to the District's budget in the form of tuition reimbursement we're required to pay. We're also required to pay transportation, which currently is estimated to be about $14,000 through a sub-contract with Chartiers Valley. If Char-Valley needs to bump Mt. Lebanon students in order to make room for their own students, however, this cost could reach about $30,000. Because it's a new school and we were notified of these enrollments late in the summer, we did not budget for these expenses. The transfer of these students to another school does not in any way decrease our expenses; their move doesn't decrease our staffing needs, our utility costs, etc. This will become a recurring expense for the District each year they choose to attend the charter school, at least one having entered the new school in kindergarten.
Charter schools will be a topic in the upcoming legislative session. Read more about what to expect on Senate Education Chairman Piccola's site as well as testimony from a number of education advocacy groups including the Education Law Center, the Keystone Sate Education Coalition and the Pennsylvania State Education Association. There are a number of considerations to be debated that could possibly expand authorization of charter schools, create a commission seperate from PDE to provide oversight and to require school districts to annually report any unused school buildings that may be suitable for the operation of a charter school or cyber charter school.

One of the biggest arguments charter school advocates make is that charter schools provide a choice to parents who live in failing school districts. The Young Scholars program in Baldwin doesn't do that. It's not a better program than those they're pulling students from but a different program. Expansion of charter schools is not only a State issue but a Federal initiative that's heavily funded through the efforts of corporations and lobbyists. Read more about what's influencing educational legislation shifts and how it may impact the concept of public education.

A district like Mt. Lebanon illuminates how hollow some of the arguments for School Choice ring, in my opinion. While I can appreciate parents' desire to send their children to schools other than our public schools - and pay for it - for personal, cultural or religious reasons, it would be difficult to make the argument that parents are sending them to charter schools like the Young Scholars program because they will receive a superior education and that tax dollars should be used to provide that choice.

We are a high-performing district with a high level of accountability in terms of academic performance and financial oversight. When your tax dollars follow a child to a charter school, do you have the same level of oversight on how those dollars are spent or how the students you're paying to educate perform? Will PSSAs (if the charter school gives them) or Keystone Exams (if they're reimplemented by PDE) be administered uniformly? How will those scores be reported? Will it be possible to break out groups of students by the district in which they reside to evaluate how they're performing versus how students who remain in the District perform? Will pending charter legislation provide for the same level of accountability for public schools in terms of Right to Know access, public meetings and academic performance reporting? Will they be required to adhere to the same mandates public schools do for special education and how will that costly service be paid for?

If this issue concerns you, talk to your legislators. Mt. Lebanon's constituents have a unique perspective in the School Choice debate and one that could help shape legislation.

Watch What Some of Our Great Alumni Did Last Weekend

2011-09-13T17:09:00.000-04:00

There are a couple of great slideshows that the District produced from last weekend's Pink Out and Great Alumni Awards that are worth a look. You can also watch CPL Ben Kiernan (MTL '04) throw out the first pitch at Sunday's Pirates game by clicking here. Learn more about CPL Kiernan's military service here.

2011 Mt. Lebanon Great Alumni Award Luncheon

2011-09-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

I was honored to have participated in yesterday's 2011 Mt. Lebanon Great Alumni Award Luncheon. This year's seven honorees are each interesting, impressive men and women whose time in Mt. Lebanon helped to shape who they are today. Only one still lives in the area, Lori McCleary-Szala and she was joined by actor Joe Manganiello (left) and US Attorney Kenyen Brown (right) to accept her award in person.

Click here to learn more about this year's winners. It was humbling to hear how Mt. Lebanon provided a foundation for these men and women who are making such a big impact on other people around the world. Andrew Mason's mother talked about the importance of raising children in a caring community who helped keep them out of trouble. Kenyen emphasized the importance of serving others no matter what someone pursues. Lori spoke about how important it is for young people to understand the long-term consequences of making a bad choice "in the moment" and how her life experience has shaped her career and impacted so many teens in the community. Ken Polsky's dad talked about following what you love to do and exploring the many possibilities Mt. Lebanon offers.

And then there was Joe, probably the most recognizable of this year's recipients. He had invited his parents, his high school television production teacher, Dr. Hulick, who's now retired and our theatre teacher, Mrs. Schreiner, who still teaches at the High School, to the event. He spoke about how each of them helped shape who he is today professionally and how much his current success was shaped by a District that values the arts, academics and athletics and provides resources like a television production studio along with caring, encouraging teachers. He talked about his family and how, like most families, moving to Mt. Lebanon is a choice and often a sacrifice but an investment in a great education. Watch his acceptance speech. The faculty and Board members I spoke to after the lunch all agreed that he summed up why we do what we do every day.

Congratulations to each of this year's honorees. You each are people who set good examples for our students and with whom I'm proud to share the distinction of Mt. Lebanon alumna.

PSERS Earns 20% on Real Estate Portfolio

2011-09-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on their PhillyDeal$ blog last week that the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Pension Fund (PSERS) earned 20% returns on its real estate portfolio in the year ended June 30, for the first annual profit on its $10 billion in property investments since 2007. This is well above PSERS' 8% target but it's too early to tell whether current market volatility will enable this return to help offset projected spikes in school district and state contributions.

Pink Out September 9 at First Home Football Game

2011-09-02T06:52:00.001-04:00

The Blue Devils' football season is getting started in the Pink. The District will host a Pink-Out at the first home game, next Friday to raise awareness for breast cancer research. Players will be wearing pink and attendees are encouraged to do the same.

Mt. Lebanon's first Pink-Out was organized in 2009 by Ellese Meyers, a high school student who wanted to honor her mother who had lost her battle with breast cancer. Pink-Outs are now held at over ninety high school sporting events in the WPIAL, raising over $35,000 for the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Foundation.

Ellese will be featured on ABC's “Everyday Health” as a result of her efforts. Click here for more information.

Another Perspective on the First Day of School

2011-09-01T06:05:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite local bloggers in Chris Stengel, the District's Director of Technology. He's got one of the most exciting jobs in the District and blogs everyday about ways our teachers and students use technology. I love that his oldest son is a student in the District and an end-user for all of the cool stuff Mr. Stengel's department deploys.

Click here to read more about his perspective on how Mt. Lebanon deploys the First Day of School and here to watch a great video Mrs. Belardi-Creagh produced at Foster on Monday.

What Did You Do On Your Summer Vacation?

2011-08-31T17:24:00.001-04:00

I'm always impressed with the interesting activities students participate in during summer vacation. Our teachers and administrators are no exception! Click here to read about some of the interesting things our faculty participated in during their "off" time. Some presented at conferences, some traveled to other countries to learn something new and others shared their skills with children in other communities. These are just some of the highlights; summer is a busy time for "continuous improvement" for our dedicated educators.

More Good Academic News

2011-08-31T06:20:00.010-04:00

Recently, the District received information about our students' ACT scores in 2011. Mt. Lebanon students' test scores went up in all four subject areas: English, Mathematics, Reading and Science. While ACT test scores went up statewide, Mt. Lebanon still outpaced the state average in all four subjects by an average of 3.5 points. This news follows notification in April that the District's PSSA test results have resulted in improved rankings for the District statewide and regionally for the high school, middle schools and many elementary schools.

The ACT is an indicator of the extent to which students are prepared for college-level work. They've established the following scores as college readiness benchmarks for designated college courses:

English Composition: 18 on ACT English Test
Algebra: 22 on ACT Mathematics Test
Social Science: 21 on ACT Reading Test
Biology: 24 on ACT Science Test

While students statewide are not as college-ready for biology as Mt. Lebanon's students on average, ACT Research claims that students taking Biology, Chemistry and Physics typically achieve higher ACT Science scores than students taking less than three years of science courses. (The District does require students to take three years of science in order to graduate.) Likewise, ACT Research asserts that students who take a minimum of Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Geometry typically achieve higher ACT Mathematics scores than students who take less than three years of math (we also require three years of math in order to graduate). ACT maintains that the rigor of coursework rather than simply the number of core courses taken has the greatest impact on ACT performance and college readiness.

Congratulations to our students on their continued success and to our administration and teachers, whose focus on student achievement continues to produce great results.

First Day of School

2011-08-29T17:04:00.002-04:00

I bumped into a friend of mine at Giant Eagle yesterday and we were comparing "back to school lunch" grocery carts. "It's like Christmas," he said. Some may disagree but whether you spent your morning brushing someone's hair or just driving a little slower through the neighborhood, we all play a part in making the first day of school a success.

Some of you drove the carpool. Some brought a treat for a crossing guard and some of you helped pay the salary for a child's first teacher. Whether you had someone head out your door this morning or not, each of us can be proud to have helped get another school year off to a great start. Click here for a slideshow the District created this morning at Washington Elementary.

PSBA Testifies Before House Education Committee

2011-08-28T14:19:00.000-04:00

PSBA's Executive Director, Tom Gentzel, recently testified before the House Education Committee and shared concerns school directors and administrators share regarding issues expected to come before the legislature during this year's upcoming session. Click here for a transcript of his testimony where Mr. Gentzel argues against pending voucher legislation:

"Voucher proponents are hoping another strategy works, as well: If you repeat a fallacy or generalization so often and say it with authority, it will eventually become accepted as the undeniable truth for everyone. You’ve heard it often in this voucher debate: Public schools are failing. Public schools are violent places. Test scores are declining. Spending on schools has doubled and results have not improved. The current system that has been in place for 175 years doesn’t work anymore. Vouchers are an escape hatch for “trapped” students from poor families. Parents need “choice” but there is currently no opportunity for them to do so. These kinds of arguments designed to create an emotional response are taken from the scripts of well-heeled advocates who are seeking voucher legislation in states across the nation and putting intense pressure on you, our state lawmakers."

If you're concerned about the impact pending legislation will have on accountability and local school district budgets, contact Sen. Pippy and Rep. Smith today. The legislature will be back in session next month.

Corrections

2011-08-22T12:05:00.000-04:00

Recently, a resident accused me of plagiarism as the result of information she received and published from an anonymous source. The anonymous source found three of my 435 blog posts where I had neglected to cite original sources that I had pulled information from. I apologize for that oversight and have made corrections to those posts.

As Mrs. Gillen and her anonymous source may have noticed, I endeavor to include information and links to the sources I and other school directors use to gather information that helps us each do our jobs better. Some of that information comes to us in the form of subscription-only emails that isn't available on a public web site, some comes without original sources indicated and some we find ourselves. Regardless, I take responsibility for all of my work, give credit to others and am committed to continuous improvement.

I'm flattered that such a consistent critic of the District has taken the time to read my blog and learn more about important topics like Act 1, the Separations Act and the consolidation of municipalities and school districts. They're important topics. I'm not the subject matter expert on any of them but will work harder to bring information about these and other important education issues to readers in a clear, accurate manner.

2011 Mt. Lebanon Great Alumni Award Recipients

2011-08-22T06:51:00.002-04:00

You won't want to miss the September 9 High School football game against Penn-Trafford. Mt. Lebanon will host a Pink Out during the game (more on that later) and will honor the 2011 Great Alumni Award Recipients during the game. This year's class is an interesting group of alumni, many who are planning to travel home to receive their honors.

Kenyen Brown
Class of 1987

A graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee School of Law, Kenyen R. Brown has devoted his career to public service. Upon graduating from law school in 1995, Mr. Brown moved to Montgomery, Alabama, to work as an Assistant District Attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. He moved to Mobile shortly thereafter, accepting a position as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, where he prosecuted drug offenses and general crimes. Immediately prior to his recent appointment, Mr. Brown spent the last ten plus years working for the Ethics Committees of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, culminating in his service as Senior Counsel and Director of Education and Training for the Senate Ethics Committee, and more recently as Acting Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the House Ethics Committee. President Barack Obama nominated Mr. Brown on August 6, 2009, to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2009, and entered on duty on December 4, 2009, becoming the first African-American United States Attorney in the history of the State of Alabama.

Laura Leigh Hughes
Class of 1978

In 1993, actress Laura Leigh Hughes founded “The Unusual Suspects” in response to deteriorated community relations that resulted from the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Designed to assist youth in underserved and at-risk environments, The Unusual Suspects offers intensive 10-week theatre arts mentoring workshops to help participants develop self-esteem, communication, and coping skills necessary to make positive life choices. Ms. Hughes and The Unusual Suspects have received several awards including the 2007 Coming Up Taller Award, the nation’s highest honor for after-school arts programming, and the 2000 National Juvenile Justice Award. An actress for the past 18 years, Ms. Hughes has appeared in dozens of television and film productions. She graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Sociology.

Joe Manganiello
Class of 1995

Joe Manganiello currently plays the role of werewolf Alcide Herveaux in HBO’s True Blood. A 2000 graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama, upon graduation he moved to Los Angeles and quickly landed the role of Eugene “Flash” Thompson, Peter Parker’s nemesis in Spiderman. Mr. Manganiello has appeared in over two dozen film and television productions. He is a supporter of Until There’s a Cure, a charity dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS, and appears in public service announcements for the organization. While a student at Mt. Lebanon, Mr. Manganiello lettered in football, basketball and volleyball. His senior year, he won the role of Jud Fry in the high school’s production of the musical Oklahoma! and was involved with the school’s TV studio as a writer, director, and editor. He also acted in a variety of movies with his friends.

Andrew Mason
Class of 1999

Andrew Mason is the founder and CEO of Groupon, a Chicago-based website offering users deep discounts at local businesses. Launched in November 2008, Groupon has over 35 million subscribers in over 30 countries and has sold more than six million deals. Through daily e-mail, Twitter and app offers, subscribers receive a limited time offer group coupon – or “Groupon” - customized to fit their interests. An entrepreneur from an early age, Mr. Mason painted house numbers on curbs, offered a bagel delivery service and ran a short-lived computer repair business. Mr. Mason graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with a degree in music.

Kenneth Polsky
Class of 1985

Kenneth Polsky has spent his career at Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services and Pittsburgh-based Global Links managing humanitarian programs in developing countries in Africa and Latin America. He has devoted his career to managing short-term and ongoing crises in poor, warring and troubled parts of the world. Mr. Polsky has worked in the areas of HIV/AIDS, peace building, and emergency preparedness. As CSR’s Regional Representative for Latin America, he has played a major role in assisting with the relief efforts after Haiti’s devastating earthquake in January 2010. Mr. Polsky received a B.A. in History in 1991 from the University of Michigan.

Lori McCleary-Szala
Class of 1988

Lori Szala is the Executive Director of the Pregnancy Resource Center, an organization that has provided young women and men with confidential medical care and compassionate peer counseling free of charge. Ms. Szala helped develop the “in the kNOw” educational programs that inspire local middle and high school students to consider abstinence in order to prevent teen pregnancy and STD’s while safeguarding their futures and reaching their fullest potentials. The innovative program also offers students knowledge and understanding about the importance of thinking about individual values with respect to relationships. Ms. Szala has been a presenter in the Mt. Lebanon health classes for the past 11 years and has had a direct impact on thousands of our students when sharing her personal story. In addition to her work with pregnant teens, Ms. Szala has made five mission trips to Africa and has helped drill a water well, and build, supply and organize schools for children in small remote villages while teaching the “in the kNOw” program to thousands of students in HIV/AIDS infested regions.

Carole Beebe Tarantelli
Class of 1960

Carole Beebe Tarantelli is an educator, psychoanalyst, former member of the Italian Parliament, antiterrorist activist, and women’s rights activist. Following the 1985 assassination of her husband by Red Brigade terrorists, Ms. Tarantelli became the first American citizen elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies (a 638-member legislative body comparable to the U.S. House of Representatives). Ms. Tarantelli helped found Differenza Donna, an association to combat violence against women. She, served as its president for eight years. The organization opened Italy’s first shelter for victims of domestic violence. Ms. Tarantelli earned her B.A. from Wellesley, her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in English Literature from Brandeis University.

Blood Drive on Behalf of High School Senior

2011-08-19T06:22:00.002-04:00

Mt. Lebanon High School in partnership with the Central Blood Bank will be hosting a Bone Marrow Screening and Replenishment Blood Drive on behalf of a Mt. Lebanon High School senior, on Friday, August 26, 2011 from 1pm-7pm in the Mt. Lebanon High School Fine Arts Lobby. Appointments can be scheduled here by using sponsor code ZRTN0847 or by contacting Karen at 724-998-1465 or stets_karen@yahoo.com.

The student has been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, more commonly known as AML. On June 18, 2011, he was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, where he began treatments of chemotherapy and received numerous blood transfusions. Primarily through inpatient treatment, he will receive a combination of chemotherapy drugs for 10 days and then has a recovery period for another 10 days. This same process will repeat numerous times over several months, and he will most likely need a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant.

A special blood drive has been scheduled to help replenish the community blood supply from which he is using. This drive will also offer the opportunity to join the "Be the Match Registry," the national registry for bone marrow donors. Joining is easy - simply complete additional paperwork and submit a sample mouth swab during your donation.

Proper ID is required to donate blood. Persons must be 18 years or older to particpate in the "Be the Match Registry." Persons 16 years or older may donate blood with parental permission.

Technology Assessment

2011-08-18T21:02:00.000-04:00

There are some exciting things happening in technology everyday in the District. This year, the elementary schools will increase their use of Dashboard with all emergency cards now being electronic versus "green cards," all fourth and fifth grade report cards now being delivered by Dashboard only and improved navigation to class blogs, AXIS and other useful information for parents.

Monday, Mr. Stengel and Dr. Steinhauer gave a presentation about the technology assessment they've conducted this year. This information is helpful in benchmarking our hardware and software assets against competitor districts as well as our parity among each of our buildings. Take a look to learn more about the District's on-line learning initiatives and what's on the horizon, including BYOT - Bring Your Own Technology. Then for something lighter, click http://multimedia.mtlsd.org to hear the fun sound of 30 District iPads getting charged simultaneously.

Funding Special Education

2011-08-17T17:47:00.001-04:00

During Monday's meeting, some of our most routine approvals resulted in extensive discussion. If you've ever wondered how special education is funded, how students' services are determined and whether the District's funding is adequate, I encourage you to watch the meeting here when you have some time.

The services the Board approved Monday for some of our students with special needs totaled more than $400,000. We approve contracted services like these regularly, throughout the year. These services are determined through the Individualized Education Plan process that schools use for students with special needs. An IEP team usually consists of a student's teacher, parents, special education teacher and principal and as a student's needs change over time, the services he or she receives can change. The Board approves new services throughout the school year as students' needs change or as new students move into the District.

Special education is funded through a combination of our operating budget as well as partial reimbursement by state and federal funds. While we are required to deliver and pay for all necessary services a child may need and do not have the option of under-funding that area of education, we also must anticipate the needs of students who may not even be in the system yet or whose needs may change during a school year. During budget years like this one, when special education funding provided by the state is flatlined, we are still obligated to fully fund the services required.

I'm proud of the work our special education professionals and our contracted professionals do every day to serve students with special needs.

Investing in Education Despite a Challenging Market

2011-08-17T15:49:00.000-04:00

Despite thousands of teacher furloughs across Pennsylvania, Duquesne University is intensifying its efforts to recruit students for its school of education.

The university will offer a 50 percent discount on tuition and fees for all freshmen who enroll in the school of education in 2012. The dean of the school of education describes the decsion: "At a time when other disciplines or other universities may be downsizing their focus on teacher education, because we believe it's a social justice issue ... for us, it is imperative that we invest in preparing teachers."

8.15.11 Board President's Report

2011-08-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

Last week, our architect and construction manager updated the Board and the community on our progress toward rebidding the high school project. Please take a look at the District website for a list of the 200 cost reductions we’ve accepted and check back next month for a revised floorplan and a revision to PlanCon F. The architects anticipate completing their work by September 10 and PJ Dick will then need about a month to review the documents and cost estimate. This would put us on track to go out to bid around October 7 with bid openings near November 22. I’m grateful for the hard work of Dr. Steinhauer, his staff, our architects, construction manager and Board members during the past four months to help us determine approximately $16MM in cost savings while maintaining the integrity of a great design that will change the cultural landscape of our community.

The Board recently had an opportunity to conduct Dr. Steinhauer’s annual performance evaluation and were impressed with the results from his second year as the District’s superintendent. We will vote this evening to approve a 3.5% salary increase for Dr. Steinhauer and I wanted to take a moment to share some of his most significant accomplishments this year:

Fiscal Management :

Developed a budget without a millage increase
Monitored and directed expenditures, under-spending the 2010-11 budget by more than $2MM
Implemented four program and operations review teams in the areas of Revenue Generation, Utility Management, Capital Projects and Staffing
Identified cost savings opportunities in the High School project
Developed and implemented a pay for performance model for specialists

High School Project:

Obtained all municipal approvals prior to bid
Oversaw re-design of high school project after bid including construction drawings, phasing, re-bid package, and PlanCon re-submission
Oversaw hiring process for Dr. Kushner as owner’s rep

Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

Has fully implemented all cost savings strategies addressed in the CBA
On track to exceed estimated cost savings
Merit Pay Committee formed and has met

Strategic Plan

Developed an RFP for a strategic plan facilitator and is reviewing responses now
Reviewed state requirements with administration
Attended National Quality Conference to determine best practices
Made a presentation earlier this year regarding the District’s progress toward meeting or exceeding the goals established by the current Strategic Plan
Completed the Harris Survey for staff, students and the community this spring. The first wave of survey results have been presented with the community survey results forthcoming.

Student Achievement

Implemented an administrative reorganization
Improved state District ranking from #7 to #6 in the Pittsburgh Business Times
Maintained #3 Regional ranking
Improved High School ranking from #4 to #2
Worked with administrators to develop student achievement action plans for each school
Implemented PSSA graduation requirement
Provided on-line SAT prep courses and fully implemented MAP testing in order to improve student performance as measured by the SAT, AP exams and other measures of student achievement
Implemented remediation programs for students who are not achieving proficiency in state exams
Maintained very successful programs in the arts and athletics with our students receiving national and state recognition

Technology

Benchmarked District technology and use with other top performing districts
Advanced the use of elementary Dashboard
Developed and implemented District on-line learning experiences for students including

High School on-line learning during second semester with 100 courses offered
TutaPoint: free on-line tutoring for all high school students
Developing Mt. Lebanon AP Academy

Monitored the use of technology throughout the District for consistency and uniformity

The Board has already started working with Dr. Steinhauer to build on his success and have recently developed goals for the 2011-12 school year that he’ll be sharing during an upcoming report.

Speaking of success, I’m pleased to announce this month’s Extra Mile Award winner, Jeff Kaiser, the High School Building Operations Manager who also works in the District Rental Office. While the District Rental Office plays an important role in generating revenue for the District as well as serving needs for our community, it also means long hours and facilitating unusual requests that range from Girl Scouts screening a movie to outside organizations hosting performances. He also responds to rental issues such as when a group’s port-o-john was overturned on one of our athletic fields or when an organization used a snow blower on one of the District’s tennis courts in order to use it for practice after Snowmaggedon last year and had to be asked not to in order not to damage the court.

His work as High School Operations manager, though, presents its own set of challenges that Jeff not only solves creatively, but quickly and efficiently. Jeff is usually the first call when something spills, when confetti is in a stairwell or when a teacher is experiencing heating or cooling problems in a classroom. Rainy days are busy ones for Jeff since they often result in leaks.

The unusual is routine for Jeff. When a student dropped his cell phone through a sidewalk grate during a routine fire drill, Jeff was the trouble-shooter. He was also the go-to guy when a student was stuck in a locker after hours when she hid inside the locker to scare a friend, but the friend never came.
Last spring, Jeff arrived one morning to find a creative message made from cups on the upper part of the backstop on Horsman Field. Obviously someone had climbed the backstop to create the message, but who was going to climb the backstop to retrieve the cups? Jeff worked with a custodian who had an idea to use a long pole that’s used to clean the pool and “pop” the cups up and over the backstop. Success!

Jeff’s hard work is measurable. One co-worker reports Jeff’s foot traffic each day throughout the high school as being in the miles, accounted for on a pedometer he recently wore as a part of a health initiative. Thank you, Jeff, for your dedication to the District and your commitment to our community.

Community Relations Board Public Forum

2011-08-10T17:55:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share information about a program Mt. Lebanon's Community Relations Board is hosting next month:

"In the media, on the playing field, in the halls of government and in our neighborhoods, conflict has increased and public dialogue is often hostile, causing many of us to wonder….can we disagree without being disagreeable?

Join Mt. Lebanon’s Community Relations Board for a Public Forum on this subject moderated by KDKA’s Jon Delano and featuring:

Ellen DeBenedetti
Mediator, Trainer, Conflict Coach and Facilitator

David Miller
Professor, Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

Tony Norman
Post-Gazette columnist

The Rev. Kris Opat
Asst. Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Emily Stevick
Psychologist

Wednesday, September 21, from 7 to 9

Commission Chamber
Mt. Lebanon Municipal Building
710 Washington Road"

Architects Update Scheduled for Monday

2011-08-05T10:45:00.000-04:00

The Board will have an architects update at 7PM prior to our 7:30PM discussion meeting in the High School Library. We'll get a status update on any of the open issues related to the possible cost reductions that have been identified and discuss next steps in the re-bidding process.

We'll take action this Monday on some new hires needed for the start of the school year and next Monday (8/15) we anticipate seeing presentations from one of the program review teams as well as a technology overview. The Utility Operations Review team gave an interim report earlier this year and will deliver their final report this month or next, depending on team members' availability. The Capital Projects team and Revenue Generating teams are also finaling their work and all of the teams would like any additional public feedback before issuing final reports this fall. More information about the teams, their goals and how to contact them is available here.

When the Board developed a multi-year plan last summer to review and analyze District programs and operations, we developed four initial teams to study the areas of Utilities, Staffing, Capital Projects and Revenue Generating in response to potential budget challenges facing Mt. Lebanon over the next several years. These challenges include rising pension and health care costs, decreased state and federal subsidies, and moderating earned income taxes. The teams are made up of administration staff, board members, and community members and we're grateful for the thoughtful work they've undertaken this year. We look forward to community feedback and to their final reports.

Tomalis discusses Corbett's goals for a voucher bill

2011-08-04T13:18:00.000-04:00

Recently, State Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis discussed the Corbett administration's goals for a potential school voucher bill with the state House Education Committee. Watch the video for more information about legislation Governor Corbett would support.

School Vouchers Have No Strong Effect on Student Achievement

2011-07-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

This week, the Center on Education Policy released a report that reviews ten years of research on voucher programs in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, and Washington, D.C. The main conclusion is that students using vouchers to attend private schools do not generally attain higher test scores than public school students. The report also points out that much of the research over the last ten years has been conducted by pro-voucher organizations, and yet these organizations have not conclusively shown higher academic achievement resulting from vouchers.

Jack Jennings, CEO for the Center on Education Policy reports,

"today, 90% of American students attend public schools, a slightly higher share than the 88% who did so from the 1950s through the 1970s. Clearly, the future of America is being formed in the public schools where the vast majority of tomorrow's citizens and workers are being educated. We should not get sidetracked into debates about vouchers. We should stay focused on how to improve all public schools and how to provide a good education for children from low-income families."

Pension Reform

2011-07-27T17:06:00.011-04:00

Monday's Wall Street Journal had a story about Rhode Island Treasurer Gina Raimondo and her recommendations regarding her state's pension crisis, a situation that states throughout the country are grappling with.

"Ms. Raimondo has been trying for months to persuade workers, unions and taxpayers to support a top-to-bottom overhaul of Rhode Island's pension system that she says will fix the plan for decades to come.

If she succeeds, the tiny state will plug one of the most gigantic pension holes in the U.S. If she fails, the financial hole could get even deeper."

One of the interesting issues Rhode Island and other states are dealing with:

"There are fewer current state workers paying into the Rhode Island pension system than retired workers collecting money from it. In comparison, the average pension system has 1.9 current workers per retiree, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, a trade group for directors of statewide retirement systems."

How does Pennsylvania compare? It's still too early to calculate, but on Monday the Trib reported that so far,

"nearly 4,000 teachers and about 1,700 school support workers across Pennsylvania received furloughs in the wake of a $900 million reduction in state and federal school subsidies, according to spokesmen for The Pennsylvania State Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers affiliates in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia."

As our state legislators consider possible solutions to Pennsylvania's pension issue, the number of remaining employees who pay into the fund is an important consideration. While there isn't up-to-date information available yet regarding the net increase or decrease to the number of employees, anectodal evidence suggests that school districts aren't adding positions but reducing their staff through attrition or furloughs for budgetary reasons. As we learn more about how the possible overall reduction in number of school employees impacts the PSERS funding issue, I'll share that information here.

Governor Corbett is Blowing Smoke, Say Pocono School Officials

2011-07-21T22:36:00.002-04:00

Last week I shared an editorial from the It's Our Money blog with a reaction to Governor Corbett's assertion that school districts are responsible for the budget issues many are facing this year. This article offers the Pocono Mountain School District's perspective:

"We actually did anticipate that the stimulus money would not be available or replaced this year, however, the state budget reduced our funding by a lot more than the stimulus money," she said.

The level of funding at Pocono Mountain is nearly $5 million short.

"This is the lowest level of state funding provided to the district for as far back as we can remember, with the state providing funding at approximately 21 percent," Frable said.

Single vs. Multiple Prime Contractor

2011-07-19T17:00:00.002-04:00

Last night, the Board had a lengthy discussion regarding the use of a single prime contractor versus using multiple contractors for each of the major scopes of work for the high school renovation project. When we began the project a couple of years ago we chose to obtain a waiver from PDE allowing us to use a single prime contractor. Some of our desire to do so was a result of issues that arose during the elementary renovations. Some of it came from advice of our hired professionals as well as professionals serving on the Community Advisory Committee.

During the elementary projects, there were instances where delays occurred with contractors blaming other contractors for the delays. Not only are delays disruptive to students, faculty and the community but in some cases, they resulted in litigation. This time around, our desire was to avoid delays, avoid litigation and identify one contractor who accepts not only the responsibility but risk associated with any delays or material issues that may occur.

As Mr. Remely pointed out last night, there are very few school projects that go this route. Not only must a district obtain a waiver from PDE but there's a limited pool of contractors who have the bonding capacity and who can manage that level of responsibility versus sub-contractors who can more easily manage a portion, such as the electrical or mechanical system. Rather than saving money through the use of a single prime contractor, our architect and construction manager now agree that there may actually be a cost-savings in using multiple primes.

After much discussion, the Board did reach general agreement that we'd like to pursue the multiple contractor scenario. While it's difficult to quantify the potential cost savings we could realize (our construction manager is currently estimating about $1 million while our architect anticipates much more), it's also difficult to anticipate potential costs associated with delays.

After reviewing the costs associated with the elementary projects, we noticed that some of the costs were the result of change orders that boards requested, some were the result of delays and some of those delays had nothing to do with contractors but with issues discovered during construction that could not have previously been anticipated. While some delays did result in litigation, there are many recent school projects using multiple prime contractors that haven't resulted in any delays or litigation.

Our hope is that the multiple prime scenario will not only achieve a significant cost savings but will improve the competitive nature of bidding. Our construction manager has experience successfully managing projects using both scenarios and gave us an overview last night of how bid documents will be prepared for multiple primes versus a single prime contractor. In this scenario, one of the crucial aspects of the CM's job is to clearly deliniate and assign responsibility for each piece of the project, work that they've overseen in the majority of school projects they've managed, all avoiding litigation.

As the Board continues to consider compromises that will help us to reduce costs while continuing to meet programmatic needs, we'd like your feedback. A resident requested last night that the Board share the working document outlining possible cost reductions associated with the project, the highlights of which are available here. While releasing the dollar figures associated with each of those 200 reductions would put the District at a competitive disadvantage, we are working on a revision that would include descriptions of each item as well as information about whether the Board has accepted or rejected those revisions or whether they're still pending additional information. Once that information is ready it will be available here. Because the document is dynamic, we'll provide updates regularly as well. We look forward to your feedback.

New Principal at Jefferson Elementary School

2011-07-19T06:01:00.001-04:00

Last night, the Board had the opportunity to interview and unanimously approve the appointment of Marc E. Thornton as the new principal of Jefferson Elementary School.

Mr. Thornton has spent the last 12 years at the North Hills School District. He is currently the principal of West View Elementary School and has served as a K-12 curriculum leader in the special education department. Mr. Thornton also taught special education at the North Schools High School.

Mr. Thornton has a master’s in education, mentally and/or physically handicapped from California University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Thornton's appointment comes a week after last week's approval of Christopher S. Wolfson the new principal and Kelly A. Szesterniak as the new assistant principal at Mellon Middle School. Mr. Wolfson has served as a unit principal at Mt. Lebanon High School since February, 2011.

Prior to Mt. Lebanon, Mr. Wolfson was the principal of Burgettstown Middle/High School since 2007. Prior to his position in Burgettstown, Mr. Wolfson was the assistant principal at Seton-La Salle High School, and a social studies teacher and curriculum coordinator at North Catholic High School.

Mr. Wolfson holds a bachelor‘s degree in education from Slippery Rock University and a master’s degree in education administration & leadership from Duquesne University.

Ms. Szesterniak is currently the assistant principal of Lakeside Middle School in the Irvine Unified School District, Irvine, California. She has also served as a curriculum coordinator and eighth grade science teacher at Lakeside. Mellon assistant principal, Dr. Bridget Watson, has chosen to return to the classroom as an elementary teacher in the District.
Ms. Szesterniak holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a master’s degree in educational administration and school leadership from California State University, Fullerton.

Their appointments were the result of several rounds of interviews by administrators, parents, staff and Board members. The three of them will, in my opinion, serve as a strong leaders at Jefferson Elementary and Mellon and are good contributions to our administrative team.

7.18.11 Board President's Report

2011-07-18T21:59:00.000-04:00

Good evening. I wanted to start this evening by recognizing this month’s Extra Mile Award recipient. July’s awardee is special in that he isn’t technically an employee of the District. I don’t think anyone would dispute, however, the significant contribution that Officer Mike Riemer has made in the lives of the thousands of children in our schools through his work as school resource officer during the past six years.

Officer Riemer has developed and delivered programs that have complemented the District’s Olweus bullying-prevention program, has taught our students about drugs, Internet safety, alcohol and safe walking. His comprehensive curriculum offers age-appropriate information for each grade level, starting with visits to kindergarten with his radio controlled car, “PC” and gradually moving through the issues and choices our children make throughout their development culminating in lessons on internet predators, sexual harassment and safe dating relationships.

In addition to his regular classroom work, Officer Riemer is a regular presence at Scout meetings, PTA events, games and community events such as bike rodeos and safety fairs. Children from kindergarten to high school know Officer Riemer, approach him with questions or problems and look to him as a resource who’s there to help them make good choices, not punish them. Our faculty and PTA members turn to Officer Riemer as a valued counselor who has conducted in-service programs, provided parents with important information about issues facing their children and worked with PTAs on issues such as child safety, an important component of our living in a walking community.

The District is very grateful for the strong, collaborative relationship Officer Riemer has helped us maintain and grow. The results of his work are strong. Since 2005, local teen arrests for underage drinking have gone significantly from the peak of 199 in 2006 down to 57 this year. Officer Riemer started a new educational project for underage drinking in December of 2006 and underage alcohol arrests were down 61% at the end of 2010. While this is a metric we can measure, some we can’t. I talked to a few of our students this weekend to find out what they think Officer Riemer’s influence has been and one summed it up nicely: “Officer Riemer helps us understand the difference between good and bad choices.” Another asked, “Why the heck does he want to retire?” Thank you, Officer Riemer for your partnership with the District and your positive impact on our kids. Congratulations on being selected July’s Extra Mile Award recipient.

Recently, Dr. Steinhauer, Mr. Marciniak and I met with municipal staff to discuss the new stormwater fee, a fee they plan to assess later this year in order to make needed repairs to the municipality’s storm sewer infrastructure. The school district’s estimated cost will be approximately $50,000 per year which is calculated by the amount of impervious surface at each of our buildings.

We may be able to realize one-time partial credits for improvements we make on our properties. This not only reduces the District’s cost but helps our community achieve its goal of reducing its peak flow attenuation. For example, the stormwater retention system included in the high school renovation design helps Mt. Lebanon achieve that goal. As routine repaving is scheduled at each of our other buildings, the District will evaluate whether similar systems are cost-effective and possible.

More on Act 1

2011-07-15T17:50:00.005-04:00

There's an interesting editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer's It's Our Money blog today regarding Governor Corbett's assertion that he's not responsible for teacher lay-offs; these are local decisions made by local school boards.

"It's a bit disingenuous of Corbett to encourage school districts to make "their own financial decisions," since he insisted the budget deal include a deceptive law that makes it much harder for districts to decide to raise taxes.

Unlike the Philadelphia School District, most districts around the state are "taxing authorities," which means they set the rate of the property taxes that fund public schools. A 2006 law called Act 1 requires that property-tax hikes above the inflation rate be put to a voter referendum, though there were a lot of exceptions to the requirement. The law Corbett supported in this year's budget deal reduces those exceptions, meaning many more tax hikes will now have to go before voters.

Supporters of this change say voters should have the right to approve tax hikes. This sounds great at first, but creates a sneaky double standard: If voters need to approve tax hikes, why not also school cuts?

We'll tell you why not: Because both tax hikes and school cuts are undesirable. Voters would be stuck with the same hard decisions elected officials are trying to duck. Republicans looking for lower taxes don't want voters to make choices - like funding education - that might not serve their own agenda.

Act 1 doesn't make Pennsylvania more democratic - it just rigs the game by applying one form of democracy (direct democracy) to taxes and another (representative democracy) to spending."

Corbett: Suffering School Districts Have Themselves to Blame

2011-07-14T17:32:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, Governor Corbett told a group of statewide police chiefs that school districts who are experiencing budget issues this year only have themselves to blame for having counted on one-time Federal stimulus money. That stimulus money was a part of the state funding that they received last year under Governor Rendell's administration, money that the State understood then to be one-time funding that helped them to meet their obligation to fund public education in the Commonwealth.

Governor Corbett's perspective is interesting. It implies that school districts should recognize that the state's funding of education isn't a priority whose obligation is met through the state's annual budget. Not only have districts had their state funding for basic education cut for the first time in more than a decade, for some significantly, they can no longer expect to see the state's funding obligation fully realized as estimated in the General Assembly's Costing-out Study that I've talked about here, here and here.

The Governor's educational priorities seem to center around the privatization of public schools through voucher efforts like SB 1 that are being heavily lobbied by national organizations. As these initiatives are re-introduced in the fall, it will be important to see how these efforts impact local districts serving children throughout the Commonwealth. Schools receiving taxpayer dollars under SB1 would have virtually no academic performance requirements: no PSSAs, no AYP reporting, no public budgets, no public audits, no sunshine law and no right-to-know law requirements. States like Wisconsin and Ohio who currently have a voucher system have not been able to show that students receiving these vouchers perform better than their peers in traditional public schools.

General Assembly Completes Budget Work, Includes Restrictions on Act 1 Exceptions

2011-07-03T12:56:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, the General Assembly and Gov. Tom Corbett completed their business just before midnight with the enactment of a new 2011-12 state budget and accompanying legislation. The governor scored some victories but did not achieve success on two of his priority issues – vouchers and expansion of charter schools.

For school districts, the bills signed bring deep cuts (click here for latest district subsidy allocations) as well legislation to severely restrict the taxing abilities of school boards by eliminating many of the backend referendum exceptions allowed under Act 1 of Special Session 2006. The governor made it clear that he would not sign the budget unless the tax restrictions were passed. After hours of debate and numerous amendments offered, the legislation was passed with a promise by Senate leadership to revisit the issue in the fall to refine and make changes.

The vehicle used to insert the limitations was SB 330, an unrelated bill that amends Act 1. The new law retains the following exceptions, with some modifications:

Special Education: The exception adds language that requires costs incurred to be netted against state special education payments. That means that districts may only seek a tax hike to cover the portion of a special education cost increase that exceeds the district’s special education state funding. I've written about the impact special education costs have on the District's budget here.
Electoral Debt: Existing language is retained related to payment of interest and principal on any voter-approved debt.
Grandfathered Debt: Existing language is retained related to payment of current outstanding debt.
Pension: The pension exception freezes the wage base at 2011-12 levels, such that the exception cannot be used to cover any increases in these costs above the base, even if a school district hires new employees and the total salary costs exceed the 2011-12 levels.

I would anticipate the District sharing a thorough analysis of how the state budget and SB 330 will effect Mt. Lebanon later this summer and anticipate us weathering this storm well compared to many of our neighbors. My immediate reaction concerning how this will effect education in the Commonwealth is: negatively. Two of the most unpredictable parts of a school district's budget are special eduction and PSERS. While "exemptions" are still allowable under this new bill, I'm interested in learning more about the new restrictions they've tied to both areas.

In terms of how this bill will impact school building projects, it's important to look at the big picture. The American Society of Civil Engineers issued an "infrastructure report card" last year grading the condition of many aspects of Pennsylvania's infrastructure including bridges, roads, drinking water infrastructure, and schools. While some areas graded "D" or lower (like water and sewer - something to consider in the proposed sewer fee discussion), schools graded a B-. Fairly respectable, right? The problem is that the state budget has not only locked in that grade by preventing school boards from issuing debt for construction projects, but that grade will only decrease.

Whether you agree or disagree with the renovation project this Board has endorsed, this legislation has tied the hands of districts from Burgettstown to Towanda to Punxsutawney to Bangor Area from allowing their elected officials to issue debt without voter approval. Critics might claim that if local communities support education they'll support construction, especially when student populations increase, buildings become inadequate or program needs evolve. The reality is, they don't.

Thirteen of the 14 Act 1 referendums that have gone to a vote in Pennsylvania since 2006 have failed. That is not an indication that any of those thirteen districts were requesting electoral debt for programs or projects that were excessive or unneeded. School referendums often fail because the majority of any electorate do not have school-aged children and when given the choice between raising their taxes or not, they choose not. This is also true of referendums for other expenditures such as roads, sewers or libraries. It's very easy to vote against additional expenditures, whether they are expenditures you use every day or not, if given the option. This is why many voters look to their local elected officials to research complex issues like infrastructure, analyze options and make decisions based on the best interest of their community. I've written about misconceptions about Act 1 here.

Aside from the impact of SB 330, the impact this year's education budget will have on education in the Commonwealth also puts us collectively at a disadvantage. In 2008, a costing out study determined that state education funding was inadequate and needed to be increased over time in order to meet the needs of local districts, more completely fund mandates such as special education and put the Commonwealth on par with other states' education budgets. Not only does this budget not work toward this goal but it decreases funding to districts throughout Pennsylvania, putting them even further behind than they were, all while maintaining an untapped budget surplus.

Watch some of the reactions from legislators including Rep. Smith from Mt. Lebanon, Rep. White from Cecil, and Rep. Sturla from Lancaster, who told his fellow legislators during floor debate to "own your cuts. Have a parade and say: 'I cut your school district and I'm proud of it. Good for me.'" And if you can help me understand how these cuts and restrictions are good for education and help school districts prepare kids to compete in a global market, please share your thoughts with me. I'd be happy to pass them along to my counterparts who serve school districts throughout the Commonwealth.

Mergers and Acquisitions

2011-06-21T20:05:00.006-04:00

An important source of information for this post comes from the Team Pennsylvania Foundation. For more information, read their complete report here.

Recently, Carlynton and Clairton School Districts have been in the news for approaching several other local districts to discuss the possibility of consolidation. While in both cases, they didn't find any takers, it has prompted several people to ask me about consolidation of districts. I've written about this issue before but thought I'd share some of the history behind mergers, what makes a merger attractive as well as some perspective regarding why a merger with the school district or the municipality would or wouldn't be attractive to Mt. Lebanon's constituents.

Municipal Mergers
In Pennsylvania, there are 67 counties, 56 cities, 959 boroughs, 92 first class townships, 1,455 townships of the second class, and one town. Only 249 of our municipalities have a population of 10,000 or more with Mt. Lebanon being one. Pennsylvania's historical trend has been to create more municipalities over the years rather than less with ours having been established during a period of growth in the region. Several states, including New Jersey, have used the 10,000 population figure as a baseline for determining the minimum size of a viable unit of local government.

Merger, consolidation and boundary change are three options that municipalities have when considering a change in governance. Neither merger nor consolidation can take place without an affirmative vote by all those voting in each municipality involved in a merger or consolidation.

Most attempts at municipal merger and consolidation have not been successful. Some of those that have succeeded have done so on the second or third attempt. The impetus for consolidation or merger is often financial; one of the municipalities is usually experiencing significant fiscal issues or is not providing adequate services to its residents. The merger or consolidation process allows many opportunities for opponents to be able to prevent a municipal merger or consolidation. The joint ordinance effecting a merger or consolidation must be voted on and approved by the respective councils, commissioners, or supervisors at least 13 weeks before the election in order to be placed on the ballot. Defeat of the proposed ordinance by one municipality ends the process. Thirteen weeks following a many-months long process of discussion and meetings is a long time to sustain support and enthusiasm for merger or consolidation and ample time for opponents to marshal significant opposition.

Municipal mergers or consolidations in Pennsylvania simply are not easy to accomplish. The process is laborious and there are many steps along the way where opponents can easily stop the effort. The Commonwealth offers little in the way of assistance beyond encouragement and nothing in the way of financial incentives. This is why such discussions are often the "solution of last resort" that's entertained only when other alternatives are exhausted.

School District Merger
In 1958, Pennsylvania had 2,361 school districts. In 1961, the Commonwealth enacted Act 561, which mandated the size and structure of Pennsylvania’s school districts. After the consolidation of many school districts by the Commonwealth, further school consolidation and merger activity ceased. By 2007, about 75 percent of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts enrolled fewer than 2,500 students. Unlike municipalities, there is no special legislative act similar to the 1994 municipal boundary change legislation that applies to school districts. Several sections of the Public School Code establish basic procedures for a merger of school districts and the involvement of the State’s Board of Education.

The process to complete a merger of school districts differs from the municipal process because no public referendum is required to approve the merger. The merger of two districts is a merger of the educational delivery of a state supported function of public education.

School districts in Pennsylvania share much more in common with each other than municipalities do due to the common mandates and regulatory oversight of the Commonwealth’s Department of Education (PDE). State funding and oversight has created common accounting and reporting requirements that do not exist in the municipal sector. The school district merger process contains four public votes by the school boards involved and does not directly involve the public except through public meetings and hearings for public comment.

In the case of either a municipality or school district merger, the following factors are a few of many that can drive the decision:

Amount of debt service one body is absorbing from the other
Actual cost savings. Often these savings are minimal once overlapping administrative positions are trimmed
Costs or savings realized in merging pension plans
Quality of services / education being consolidated (ex: if one school district is not making AYP, how attractive are they to a high-performing district considering a merger?)
Number of employees in each entity
The cost of bringing all existing collective bargaining agreements up to the level of the highest paying
Capital equipment and property owned by each entity
Geography and how to maintain infrastructure to support new boundaries (paving, busing, park maintenance, etc.)

Sharing Services as Alternative to Merger
Municipal service sharing occurs in all operations of government, from police and fire contracting among municipalities to the sharing of heavy equipment, joint bidding of road construction and pavement repairs and even free snow plowing by the larger municipality to the residents of the smaller municipality within its borders.

Mt. Lebanon: Municipality / School District Cooperation
While merging municipalities with school districts isn't legally possible, Mt. Lebanon is a community with a high level of cooperation between the school district and municipality. Mtl magazine did a feature in this month's issue describing the efficiencies we share, the working relationship we enjoy and the cooperation we encourage among staff and elected officials. I've talked to my counterparts in other coterminous districts (Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, Hampton, Plum, etc. - 12 in Allegheny County like this) and believe that while districts and towns are legally required to operate as separate entities, we offer our constituents a higher level of shared services and cooperation than most coterminous municipalities and school districts do. Factors such as our age, dense geography, level of professionalism among staff and high expectations among those we serve all play roles in fostering this cooperation.

Role of the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth would need to enact legislation in order to create incentives for taxing bodies to support cooperation and shared services among local governments. As a start, the General Assembly could review municipal legislation, including the current county code and the municipal codes that govern the basic structure and function of local government in Pennsylvania. The county code and the various municipal codes often cause financial impediments to regional cooperation and to the sharing of municipal services.

A similar review of the school code would also be necessary in order to encourage school district consolidation. Currently, the House and Senate are considering a lot of legislation tied to the State budget that could impact districts' ability or willingness to consolidate, including furlough and building reimbursement legislation. Encouraging consolidation doesn't seem to be a priority of Governor Corbett's while initiatives such as vouchers and charter schools do.

With many school districts and municipalities focused on issues surrounding State budget cuts and increasing pension obligations, their focus in the short term may be addressing the impact these cuts will have on programs and people. It's difficult to think creatively about merger possibilities when there is no incentive, lengthy and difficult approval processes and oftentimes negligible cost savings in lieu of improved services.

6.20.11 Architects Update

2011-06-21T13:09:00.000-04:00

Last night, Dr. Steinhauer gave an overview of the revisions the Board has considered since bids were opened in April, how these revisions impact the plan and next steps that the community can expect. Afterwards, we opened the meeting for public input and would love to hear more. We've given our architects direction to move forward with redrawing the plans based on the recommendations described in the presentation and will have more complete cost reduction numbers once they work through that exercise.

6.20.11 Board Report

2011-06-21T07:03:00.001-04:00

Good evening. I wanted to begin by announcing this month’s Extra Mile Award honoree. What makes June’s Extra Miler special is that his nomination was written by one of his students, one of many who he’s obviously impacted.

Gary Ford has a passion for the study and teaching of political science, and has a special ability to engage his students. He has a reputation as a teacher who upholds high standards regardless of the circumstances and his students recognized and respected his ability to retain a positive attitude and friendly teaching style this year while coping with a difficult family issue earlier this year.

Mr. Ford has been the sponsor of the high school Mock Trial team for the past several years dedicating significant time, knowledge, and effort into aiding the members of the team prepare arguments, speeches, examinations, and cross examinations as well as improving their overall public speaking ability and understanding of the legal system.

He shares his love of politics with his students by organizing district-wide student mock elections every year, including the arduous process of counting the ballots. He also aids with the student officer elections at the high school. Additionally, Mr. Ford is well known for his repeated encouragement in getting 18-year old students to register to vote and even offers to aid the students in the registration process. Mr. Ford also manages a display case on the fourth floor of the high school where he displays Post-Gazette headlines, articles of political importance, and accolades of the students within the building.
He truly has dedicated himself to serving the school and its students and has passed his own passion for politics along to them. Mr. Ford is an exceptional teacher within the classroom, and an exceptional human being outside of the classroom. Congratulations, Mr. Ford, this month’s Extra Mile Award honoree.

Earlier this evening the District had an architects update and had further discussion and public input regarding possible revisions to the project plan that will move us closer to going back out to bid this fall. I wanted to take some time this evening to reassure the community that the Board has thoroughly reviewed recommendations from our architect, construction manager and administration regarding the project and has found significant cost savings that will not impact our program or the integrity of the project.

Tonight marks the sixth time since bid opening that the Board has met publicly to review our options and discuss revisions. As Dr. Steinhauer mentioned earlier tonight, while the most visible changes impact B and G buildings and the athletic complex, each academic program space is accounted for in the redesign, with similarly sized classrooms and each athletic space is also accounted for in the redesign. This design maintains the Design Criteria originally developed in 2007 as a part of the DeJong Study and continues to provide improved security, improved energy efficiency, improved athletic spaces, a new mechanical system, improved technological capacity, ADA accessibility, Auditorium and Fine Arts Theatre Upgrades and efficient food service operation.

This latest step in a process that began in 2001 has been unexpected but it has given us the opportunity to refine the design and develop improvements that will result in one additional flexible large group instruction room on the 6th floor of B Building, easier public access to Central Office, a correctly sized Central Administration area based on Dr. Steinhauer’s recent reorganization, efficiencies gained in a smaller Operation and Maintenance space and efficiency in circulation in the athletic building.

I’m grateful to the Board for their diligence in reviewing the recommendations brought forward by our architects and construction manager and balancing those recommendations against the programmatic needs identified by our educators during a four-yearlong process. The re-bid process has been extensive and deliberate. We appreciate the public’s patience as we have reviewed the hundreds of specific details that have helped us refine the plan. We remain proud of this project and committed to its completion and its success.

How to Tell if Your Housing Market Has Hit Bottom

2011-06-20T17:20:00.002-04:00

Today's Wall Street Journal focused on the national housing market recovery and how to tell which communities have hit bottom and are in a state of recovery after a five-year housing recession. David Crook reports on factors like employment, rents and foreclosures and how each of them are contributing to the recovery of places like Jacksonville, Boulder and Durham. This is good news.

Better news is the feature he did on Pittsburgh, singeling out our city as one that never went through a home-price bubble and has continued to see home values rising during the recession, emerging from the real-estate bust virtually unscathed.

Crook describes the chart on the left:

"Pittsburgh's graph line rises steadily through the decade, barely a blip anywhere. Las Vegas's graph, in contrast, looks like a scary carnival ride, ending about 2% lower than where it started."

Other good Pittsburgh news: the Business Times reported today that the Pittsburgh region totaled $115.6 billion in annual gross product in 2010. We outperform a number of large cities, including Cleveland and Las Vegas and entire states like Utah and Rhode Island. That's more than the entire nation of Vietnam ($105.9 billion) and Libya ($75.8 billion), too. Read Pittsburgh: Worldwide economic powerhouse here.

Financial Awards

2011-06-15T07:48:00.001-04:00

The Association of School Business Officials recognized Mt. Lebanon School District as one of a
distinguished group of just 13 school districts in the United States and Canada receiving a budget award annually for the past 15 years. The award is given to districts which provide clear and understandable budgets with sound fiscal management practices.

Additionally, the Government Finance Officers Association notified the District that the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2010 received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. Congratulations to Jan Klein and our Finance Department for their excellent work in this area.

6.13.11 Architects Update

2011-06-14T20:05:00.003-04:00

Last night's architects update offered substantial information about possible cost reductions with still lots more work to be done. The architects and CM have developed a list of almost 200 possible cost reductions for the Board to consider, some with cost estimates pending, some with issues to be resolved. A few of the significant issues that the Board needs information about are:

Details on the proposed layouts for G Wing, B Building and the lower level of the athletic wing. We are waiting for a revised elevation schematic as well as a programmatic review of these revisions developed by the administration.
CFB will have some information this week about any load-bearing restrictions that would impact revisions to the loading dock.
We're waiting for some additional information about mechanical system and security system spec revisions. We expect that information this week.

We also discussed a revised add/deduct alternate list that CFB has proposed:

Deduct alternates:

Third gym
Tennis courts
Feature screens on the north end of G Wing
Feature screen on the south end of Athletic Wing

Add alternates:

Second level or additional casework
Rifle range fit-out and finish including mechanical systems
Energy recovery wheels
Blown fiber data wiring

While it makes sense for any project of this size to include alternates, Board members did express concerns about some of the items on these lists. In addition to the programmatic impact the athletic spaces have, we also talked about the aesthetic impact the elimination of the feature screens as well as other "cosmetic" proposals would have. We've asked for drawings and product samples to share with the public so that everyone understands what these changes would look like if we agree to make these changes. We've also asked for more information regarding potential cost savings with revised technology specs versus our ability to drop cables and support future infrastructure. We did reach consensus that we will include the athletic-related alternates.

There are many items that we simply need additional rationale in order to make a decision. We've asked CFB to provide a greater level of detail regarding how the potential cost-savings are being estimated so that we can better evaluate whether some of these revisions will still meet programmatic needs, whether they'll impact other pieces of the project and whether there are operating costs that offset any initial savings. CFB and PJ Dick still have a lot of work to do but are working toward a September 2 date to have new bid documents available.

We discussed whether to change the bid structure from a single to multiple prime structure and settled on keeping it a single prime but exploring whether some specific work such as food service and casework could be bid out.

We will have additional information to share with the community and give the architects and CM additional direction on Monday. This project has been a very long series of compromises and I expect many more before we're through. We've made compromises regarding the project's scope, price, materials, consultants, phasing, financing, and specifications since we started. At every step there have been Board members and community members who have had to offer concessions and we're not done yet. I'm very grateful to work with a Board who continues to ask our consultants tough questions, work cooperatively with each other and to offer solutions. I'm also grateful to the many, many members of our community who have reached out to us with ideas and encouragement. We appreciate your input and look forward to more of it as we continue our work.

Our next architects update is at 6:30 PM on Monday in the High School library. We hope to see you then.

Relay for Life 2011

2011-06-12T11:38:00.000-04:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in Mt. Lebanon's second annual Relay For Life. This was a great weekend with even more community support than last year: 82 teams and almost $200,000 raised when I left this morning.

This event has become a Mt. Lebanon tradition in a short period of time, bringing our community together for a common cause: fighting cancer.

If you weren't able to join the thousands of your Lebo neighbors over the weekend who walked, danced, sold tattoos and bailed firefighters out of jail, consider being a part of a team next year. It really is a community-wide party for a great cause and a chance to spend 24 hours with the most caring, positive people you'll ever meet in Mt. Lebanon.

2011-12 Lunch Prices Remain the Same

2011-06-10T17:40:00.023-04:00

In case you missed Sunday's story in the Tribune-Review on Sunday, here's an overview of some of the school lunch price increases other school districts are faced with for next school year. I'm pleased that last month we were able to accept a food service budget of $1,495,924 with no increase in lunch prices.

This budget reflects two additional days of service as well as increases in food and personnel costs. The popularity of the now fully-implemented elementary lunch program contributes to our food service department's success. We also enjoy a very responsive management team who encourages student and parent feedback to meal offerings and prices. Breakfasts will remain at $1.40 with elementary lunches priced at $1.75 and middle and high school lunches ranging from $2.00 to $3.00.

Live Broadcast of Commencement

2011-06-06T18:11:00.004-04:00

Graduation is Thursday at 7:00 PM in the High School Stadium. Good news for distant relatives: Commencement will be streamed live again this year here. It will also be broadcast live on the School District Cable Channels 19 (Comcast) and 33 (Verizon).

In the event of severe weather, the ceremony will take place in the High School Auditorium with admission by ticket only. Overflow seating will be available in the Fine Arts Theatre and cafeterias.

Act 1 Exceptions

2011-06-04T22:30:00.009-04:00

Source: PSBA legislative alert emailed to school directors

It's the most misunderstood issue before the General Assembly today: property tax exceptions allowed under Act 1.

SB 911, sponsored by Sen. Michael Brubaker (R-Lancaster), and HB 1326, sponsored by Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), both propose to eliminate all ten Act 1 exceptions, including those exceptions for special education expenditures and for fulfilling pension obligations. Passage of these bills would require school districts to seek voter approval for any and all property tax increases above the index.

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

The misconceptions associated with this issue include these arguments:

Something needs to be done to control irresponsible spending by school boards, and removing these exceptions that permit their budgets to balloon at the expense of taxpayers is a good start.
The exceptions under Act 1 are overused for unnecessary expenses.
Requiring a public referendum on tax increases that would provide revenue to school districts is good, fair public policy aimed at protecting taxpayers.
Voters should have the power to determine how their tax dollars are used, if they find a proposed program valuable, they will vote for it.

These arguments sound reasonable, especially to new legislators who are eager to accommodate constituents who want tax relief.

The other side of the argument, though include:

The exceptions provided for under Act 1 are for mandated costs that are difficult for school boards to control, such as those for special education, pension costs, court or administrative orders, increasing enrollments, principal and interest on debt, emergencies and disaster response, and other costs. Additionally, there are no exceptions for state mandates such as cyber charter school costs and Prevailing Wage and Separations Acts.
School districts cannot control or anticipate any fluctuations in the costs of providing special education services. Many schools that provide special education instruction and services to their students will be most negatively affected by the elimination of this exception. These costs cannot be negotiated. If a school district cannot provide the required services, staff and resources for even one student, a time-consuming and expensive due process hearing or court case will likely result.
Mandated pension costs will continue to increase by large percentages over the next several years. Under current projections, the employer contribution rate, which school boards cannot control, the rate jumps from 8.72% in 2011-12, to 12.22 % in 2012-13, to 16.71% in 2013-14, to 21.20% in 2014-15, to 24.24% in 2015-16 and 25.13% in 2016-17. The rate remains at just over or below the 25% mark for several years after that.
The vast majority of Act 1 exemptions sought by school districts were for the purpose of fulfilling pension obligations and for special education expenditures. In 2010-11, there were 128 requests approved for exceptions for pension costs, and 82 for special education. For school year 2011-12, the number of requests approved jumped to 221 for pension and 171 for special education.
The exceptions provide a conservative safety net for districts who begin their budget process long before a state budget is enacted and that are concerned they may not receive enough state funding to meet their budget requirements. Because of the timelines under Act 1, districts must apply for exceptions well before they have any idea of what will be included in new state budget. In many instances, because the need for exemptions is based on preliminary budgets, the district may find that additional money is not necessary, and taxes do not increase above the index.
The number of exceptions used is far less than the exceptions approved. In 2010-11, more than two-thirds of school districts (332) adopted resolutions not to increase property taxes above their index. In fact, only 133 districts requested and received approval for Act 1 exemptions, and of that number, only 84 districts actually utilized the exception.
The truth is that the vast majority of referenda have failed. Since 2006, there have been 14 referenda by school districts under Act 1 and the Local Government Unit Debt Act, and of those 14, only one was successful. The remaining 13 referenda were defeated by generally lopsided margins, showing that the public is not likely to approve such questions and demonstrating for school boards the futility of the referendum as a mechanism to obtain the resources they need to provide a quality education.
SB 911 and HB 1326 are not the beginning of property tax reform. Property taxes are a symptom of insufficient state funding, not unsustainable spending by locally elected officials. Almost every state pays a larger percentage of overall public education costs than Pennsylvania does, with other states contributing, on average, 48% of total education funding to their schools. Pennsylvania contributes only 36%, shifting the burden of providing the remaining revenue needed to fully fund our school districts to local communities, and earning Pennsylvania a 4th place rank among the 50 states in our dependence on local taxes to support public education.

If you're concerned about SB 911 or HB 1326, contact Senator Pippy and Representative Smith and let them know.

Mt. Lebanon Sports Town

2011-06-01T06:13:00.001-04:00

If you haven't yet bookmarked Mt. Lebanon Sports Town, check out this online partnership between the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Tri-State Sports & News. The site is focused on the high school and community sports of the South Hills. It's a good resource for fans who want to follow high school sports in depth.

Special Education Funding

2011-05-30T09:38:00.001-04:00

I've had a few people ask me recently about special education funding, perhaps as a result of a School Board candidate and his supporters claiming that the District does not spend enough on special education. The reality is that any district's special education budget is determined by state and federal mandates. We fully fund the services that each of our 704 students require beyond regular classroom instruction.

These services include programs in our schools, programs provided by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and placements made outside the District. On May 23, we unanimously approved our annual agreement with the AIU for a small portion of these services, amounting to about $800,000. Those services will serve 147 or about 20% of the 704 students who are receiving services from the AIU. Of those 704, 656 are in grades K-12 and 48 are in Pre-K programs for students with individual education plans (IEPs).

We currently fund outside District placements for 78 students, including those 48 Pre-K students. Only a small portion of our special education expenses are reimbursed by the State. For example, This year (2010-2011), our request for Special Education Contingency Funds for our most costly special education services totaled $272,306. According to PDE, we will be receiving $100,326.05. Last school year (2009-2010), we submitted requests for $219,631 and received $59,392.68. These funds are set aside by the legislature to help districts offset costs beyond typical special education costs.

Recently, the Senate and House Finance Committees have each approved legislation that eliminates all exceptions provided for under Act 1 and requires school districts to seek voter approval for any and all property tax increases above the index. SB 911, sponsored by Sen. Michael Brubaker (R-Lancaster), and HB 1326, sponsored by Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), both propose to eliminate all ten Act 1 exceptions, including those exceptions for special education expenditures.

Special education is an important part of every district's budget and I'm proud of the services we provide each year to our students. SB 911 and HB 1326 will force districts to cut programs or increase class sizes in order to fund these important services should their full funding not receive voter approval through annual budget referendum votes. Concerned? Contact Senator Pippy and Representative Smith for more information.

New Jefferson Middle School Principal

2011-05-27T16:15:00.005-04:00

It is with deep regret that the Board accepted Joan Zacharias' decision to step down as principal of Jefferson Middle School. Joan has been there for ten years, having first served as teacher, when we opened the doors of Jefferson, and then, as an Assistant and Principal. Recently, due to some pressing family matters, and after careful thought and serious reflection, she made the voluntary and personal decision to step away from the Principalship. She will take a one semester leave then return to the sixth grade classroom as literature teacher in January 2012.

Monday, the Board approved the appointment of Dr. James Walsh as her successor effective August 1. Dr. Walsh most recently served as the District's Supervisor of English and is excited about this new opportunity. Mr. Jason Ramsey will remain in place having completed his first year as Assistant Principal. This summer Dr. Walsh, Mr. Ramsey and Mrs. Zacharias will work together to ensure a smooth transition to the upcoming school year.

Want to be a Mt. Lebanon Junior Commissioner?

2011-05-26T20:40:00.001-04:00

The Mt. Lebanon Commission is launching an exciting new program for Mt. Lebanon High School students who are interested in participating in a meaningful manner with their local government. Becoming the Mt. Lebanon Junior Commissioner is a great way to learn more about how local government operates and to see whether you might be interested in a career in public service. A Junior Commissioner also has the opportunity to convey student concerns/ opinions to the elected officials and to educate fellow students about issues facing the community.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Junior Commissioner must be a junior or first-semester senior at Mt. Lebanon High School and have a grade point average of at least 2.5. He/she will serve for one semester (September-January and February-June).

The Junior Commissioner will:

1) Attend at least one commission meeting per month (Meetings are the second Tuesday and fourth Monday of each month in the commission chamber of the municipal building. Discussion session begins at 6:30 p.m. and regular meeting begins at 8 p.m.)
2) Review the agenda and relevant background material and let the Commission President know which agenda items he/she wishes to address.
3) Give a brief 2-3 minute report to the commission on student activities/concerns at the start of the regular commission meeting.
4) Make a monthly report to student council about municipal government.
5) Choosing a municipal board or authority to participate on, and attend those meetings.
6) Shadow municipal department heads at mutually convenient times throughout the semester.
7) Comply with all school and government rules and regulations.

The deadline is June 20 and a short application is available here. Please spread the word to students who you know who may be interested in this important program.

5.23.11 Board President Report

2011-05-26T06:04:00.002-04:00

Good evening. This evening, the Board honored the 15 retirees whose careers with Mt. Lebanon School District will come to a close at the end of this school year. Of the retirees, the teachers represent a combined 350 years of service to this community and their work has impacted the lives of thousands of children during their tenure. I would like to personally thank each of them for their dedication to our students and their service to our district. While a lot of what the public hears or reads about lately is about bricks and mortar, each of us believe that you are the most important element of our success as a district. I’d like to ask you each to please come up when I call your name so that I can present you with a small token of our appreciation and we can take a photo.

Noreen Bayer – Noreen is retiring after 20 years of service to the District. She was hired in 1991 as a substitute school nurse at the high school and worked at various schools across the District until 2000 when she was named the supervisor of nursing services. Noreen has taken good care of our students and guided the District through many public health issues over the years including MRSA, and planning for the Avian and H1N1 flu outbreaks. Thank you, Noreen, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Mary Benintend– Mary is retiring after 36 years of teaching in the District. She was hired in 1969 as a teacher at Markham Elementary School. Mary worked for one year at Washington, but stayed at Markham for the remainder of her career, teaching 1st grade. Thank you, Mary, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Carol Dykstra – Carol is retiring after 23 years of teaching in the District. She was hired in 1988 as a special education teacher at Jefferson Elementary School. She then transferred to Howe Elementary in 1990 teaching 5th grade. In 1998, she moved to Jefferson Middle School where she is retiring as a 6th grade language arts teacher. Thank you, Carol, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Elizabeth Guerra – Betty is retiring after 24 years in the District. She has worked in various roles from instructional clerk at Howe Elementary; secretary in unit principal’s office at the high school, building secretary at Washington Elementary. Betty is retiring as an administrative assistant in human resources. Thank you, Betty, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Joanne Geisinger – Joanne is retiring after 28 years as a special education teacher. She was hired in 1983 at Mellon and has worked as a special education teacher at the junior high/middle level for her entire career and is retiring from Mellon Middle School. Thank you, Joanne, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Richard Hagerty – Rich is retiring after 28 years in the District. He was hired as a district-wide school psychologist in the 1982 school year. Rich also served on the District’s Safety and Security Committee. Thank you, Rich, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Kathleen Haines – Kathy is retiring after 39 years of teaching in the District. She was hired in 1972 as a high school foreign language teacher. She as taught both German and Russian at the secondary level during her entire career and is retiring from Mt. Lebanon High School. Kathy was also very instrumental in the success of the German student exchange program. Thank you, Kathy, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Gary Jedinak – Gary is retiring after 34 years of teaching in the District. He was hired in 1977 as a substitute 6th grade teacher and has taught at Washington and Markham elementary schools until the middle schools opened in 1998 where he has remained as a 6th grade Math teacher. Gary is retiring as a teacher at Mellon Middle school. Thank you, Gary, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Carolyn Koch – Carolyn is retiring after 38 years of teaching in the District. She was hired in 1973 as a substitute elementary music teacher and has spent her entire career teaching elementary music at almost all of our elementary buildings. Thank you, Carolyn, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Cynthia Lackner – Cindy is retiring after 22 years in the District. All of Cindy’s experiences were in libraries – Lincoln Elementary and the high school. Thank you, Cindy, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Janet Niedzwicki – Janet is retiring after 15 years in the District. She was hired as a special education inclusion specialist in 1996. Janet has spent her entire career at Mt. Lebanon in the inclusion specialist role and has made a tremendous impact in our special education program. Thank you, Janet, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
John Niedzwicki – John is retiring after 18 years in the District. He was hired as a guidance counselor Mt. Lebanon High School in 1993 and has worked at the high school his entire career. Thank you, John, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Lainee Specter – Lainee is retiring after 33 years in the District. She was hired as an elementary art teacher in 1978 has worked at nearly all buildings in the district during her career. Thank you, Lainee, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Ellen Zeitz – Ellen is retiring after 20 years in the District. She began her career with Mt. Lebanon as an aide at the elementary level and moved on as an elementary special education teacher in 1999 and has worked as a special education teacher at Jefferson and Washington Elementary Schools. Thank you, Ellen, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.
Mike Schnirel – Mike is retiring after 18 years in the District. He was hired as the principal of Jefferson Elementary School in 1993 and has remained at Jefferson for his entire Mt. Lebanon career. Mike will be missed by the parents, students and staff of Jefferson. Thank you, Mike, for your service to the School District and congratulations on your retirement.

This month the Board has been working with Celli Flynn Brennan and PJ Dick to review options that would help enable us to re-bid the high school project and achieve competitive bids below our estimate of $113MM. Last week, representatives from both firms gave an overview of several suggestions that could realize cost savings of approximately $14MM. These include revisions such as moving the lower level of the athletic building up a level, raising the loading dock, removing the fifth floor of G building, shortening the phasing of the project and reconsideration of specifications that allow us to achieve LEED Silver certification. We’ve asked them to begin redrawing the portions of the project that we discussed and expect them to provide us a more detailed report and cost analysis next month along with additional suggestions that can help to reduce the potential cost of the project. We anticipate having a more detailed timeline to share with the community in June and appreciate your patience while we work through this process. This evening, we have Cliff Rowe, PJ Dick’s CEO, who will provide us with information about the rebidding process during Mr. Remely’s Board report. We’ve asked Mr. Rowe to share information with us about what we can expect to achieve through rebidding in terms of cost reductions and numbers of competitive bidders.

This month’s Extra Mile Award winner is someone who her principal has described as the individual at Foster who has the greatest affect on the daily lives of all the people at Foster School. Jane Baranet’s role as building secretary requires her to balance three worlds: the needs of children, parents, and the staff. She is masterful at meeting all of the needs of each group. There is no position more pivotal than that of the first face a family meets when having their child enter a school system. Jane helps each family through that transition and fosters that relationship for the next six years. While personally setting up each parent conference, Jane takes into account the needs of the family based on siblings, working parents, and any supporting teachers whose schedules may need to be juggled.

She is always eager to adopt new technologies or procedures that help the school run smoothly. Her criterion for what should be considered is always, “Will it help us do our job better?” In reality, she is saying, “Will this help me meet the needs of children? She not only knows our families, she cares about them. She not only works with people, she becomes part of a family. She manages the office and the school in a way that helps everyone to focus on our mission. In other words, she is that rare individual who makes every person around her better at what they do…and enjoy it more. Please join me in congratulating Jane Baranet as this month’s Extra Mile Award winner.

Finally, High School Television Production student, Tyler Anderson, recently won the grand prize in the "Take a Shot at Changing the World" video contest for his film, My Hero: Mt. Lebanon High School. Tyler was awarded a $5000 grand prize which will be shared with the High School Media Arts program. His film will be aired on WQED and is currently posted on the website of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The contest was inspired by the new film "The Shot Felt 'Round the World" which documents the seven years in which the Salk team pulled together with the community of Pittsburgh to develop the polio vaccine and conquer the most feared disease of the twentieth century. This “viral” video initiative is a pioneering effort using the digital classroom to inspire a new generation to think about what is possible when we all work together to solve the world’s problems. Over 265 students throughout the region produced nearly 80 films, which attracted over 12,000 votes. A panel of local and national judges, made up of Rotarians, filmmakers, and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation selected the winners and finalists.

Two other students received honorable mentions in the competition: High School student, Olivia Tant, received a Judges' Honorable Mention. Of the 80 films submitted, Olivia's production "How One Little Man Saved the World" was one of 10 that received that honor. Mellon Middle student, Sydney Brown, also received an honorable mention for her film, “Polio News Report”.

I would also like to congratulate high school teacher, Michelle Kramer, and middle school teacher, Kristen Sabram, for helping our students with this impressive project.

I’d now like to invite everyone to watch Tyler Anderson’s award winning film, “My Hero: Mt. Lebanon High School.” Congratulations Tyler and Olivia.

2011-12 Budget

2011-05-25T15:35:00.004-04:00

Monday night’s budget vote came without a lot of fanfare or discussion, probably because it reflected an expenditure decrease and no millage increase. While budgets that don’t raise your taxes don’t generate a lot of discussion or feedback they certainly don’t come without a lot of work. Next year's budget is set at $78,347,833, down $1,014,607 or 1.3% from the 2010-11 budget of $79,362,440.

This year’s budget process was difficult but one of the best processes I’ve seen since I’ve been on the Board. I was elected in 2005 with three other new Board members. When a Board experiences that amount of turnover, half of the Board spends much of their first year understanding the budget, how it’s developed, which items are contractual, which are discretionary and what can be changed. Many on the Board did that, along with a lot of fist-pounding that wasn’t extremely effective in making a significant impact on the budget. Despite the fist-pounding, the Board passed a revenue-neutral budget with no tax increase that year under the previous year's assessments; this was the year of the "2002 assessment roll back."

Between the years of 2005 and 2009 we oversaw a 2.72% overall increase in the budget. We knew that the high school renovation project was on the horizon, knew that previous boards had not developed reserves with which to fund it and knew that it would be financed primarily through debt. We also knew that our pension obligations were increasing each year and would increase dramatically in the near future. We worked hard each year to minimize any increase but much of that work was annual rather than long-term.

As we moved through budget cycles during my first term (2005-09), many of us began to realize that the most significant cost savings a district can achieve are found through contractual efficiencies. If you look at each of the contracts we’ve negotiated since that time, including those for custodians, secreteries, specialists and teachers, you’ll see that each of them requires larger contributions to health care by employees as well as improved management rights that have helped to offset expenses. Early in my first term, many of us realized that true cost savings in future budgets would only be realized after the next teachers contract negotiation. That contract, which we approved last August, is one of the biggest factors in allowing us to develop a "no millage increase" budget this year during a time that many districts are facing teacher furloughs, program cuts and building closures.

During the past year, four program review teams have been working together to analyze expenditures in the areas of staffing, utilities, capital projects and to review revenue generation ideas. Their recommendations will help us consider additional efficiencies that will allow us to maintain District programs during a time when state funding is being reduced, pension obligations are increasing and revenues are flat.

I’m grateful to each of the community members who are participating on these teams and grateful to each member of our Board, a team who I truly consider to be the best Board make-up we’ve had since I was elected. All of us have learned much over the years in terms of how we can be effective in impacting the budget, why building relationships rather than undermining them helps accomplish this goal and why systematic changes do not happen during a one-year budget cycle but through hard work over time. We've learned that what makes a good sound byte: "Let's go through the budget line item by line item!" doesn't make strategic, long-term changes or systematic improvements. Promoting rhetoric about Doomsday forecasts doesn't paint an accurate picture and doesn't develop trust among Board members necessary for the hard work ahead.
Because it's election season, I've heard some rhetoric during the past couple of weeks about how the District's spending is "out of control" and am here to tell you that it's very much in control, less than last year's spending and well-managed as we tackle future challenges such as PSERS and the renovation project. We've also improved budget communication this year, sending information to homes and to employees and provided better information on the District website.

I want to especially thank Dr. Steinhauer and Jan Klein for their ongoing work and direction on this and future budgets as well as their leadership in implementing the most recent collective bargaining agreement. As I mentioned Monday night, Ms. Klein's reputation as a school district business manager is recognized throughout Pennsylvania and we are very fortunate to have her institutional knowledge and oversight of our assets during such a challenging time for education in the Commonwealth.

Lisa Clay Styles Run

2011-05-23T17:35:00.001-04:00

This Stroller-Friendly 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk will take place Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 9:00 AM in South Park. For more information on walking, running or volunteering, click here. Proceeds benefit the Watson Institute's LEAP preschool. This program focuses on enhancing the skills of children with autism with interaction and play with typically-developing peers.

Lebo's Got Talent

2011-05-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

Washington calls theirs a variety show. Lincoln calls it a talent show. Whatever the name, the idea is for students to show us what they do outside of school. So in addition to a great choral, band and orchestra program at school, our students are involved in dance, wu shu, guitar, kung fu and songwriting outside of school. Tonight was Lincoln's opportunity to show us their stuff.

Thanks to Mrs. McKeever, Mrs. Bartone and Mrs. Connell for keeping Troop LES in line. Thanks, kids, for a really fun night.

21st Century Classroom

2011-05-20T17:38:00.002-04:00

Technology Director Chris Stengel and his team have developed Mt. Lebanon's concept of the 21st Century Mt. Lebanon High School Classroom and made a video so everyone can virtually walk through.

Their goal in creating this room was to formulate a vision for future classrooms in our high school and to get practical experience and input from teachers who bring their classes through the room. Check out some of that feedback here and look for more on this exciting, real-life Plan, Do, Study, Act model.

Work on Rebidding

2011-05-19T18:06:00.011-04:00

By now, you may have read here, here or here about the work the Board has done with PJ Dick and Celli Flynn Brennan to revise bid plans and specifications in preparation for a rebid. Representatives from both firms were again at last week's meeting to share new information about the estimated $14 million in cost savings they've found through concepts such as reduced phasing, eliminating now unneeded office space (post-reorganization) and expanding the material specifications.

We've asked PJ Dick's CEO, Cliff Rowe and Vice President Jeff Turconi to attend Monday night's meeting to share more information regarding the bidding process and to offer recommendation regarding the amount of savings we should be targeting.

During the past few weeks, many of us have gotten some very helpful feedback from community members who work in the building industry. PJ Dick continues to review feedback from some of the bidders. All of this information is helping us to refine the plans and move toward rebidding. We expect a firmer timeline available in June and appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

Ron Hoffman

2011-05-16T10:07:00.000-04:00

Last week, former Mt. Lebanon School Director Ron Hoffman died. After a long career at Alcoa, he served not just our community but a number of other organizations including Gilda's Club and the Center for Theater Arts. While I didn't have the opportunity to serve with Ron on the Board, we did have a short overlap on the board of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education and I appreciated his perspective, dedication to the District's students and his grace and patience with me, a new Board member with a lot to learn. Information about his memorial service is in the obituary.

Let's Move!

2011-05-03T17:42:00.000-04:00

Mellon Middle School was selected as the only local middle school to be featured in the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) "Let's Move! Flash Workout” event.

Over 60 Mellon students participated in a pre-choreographed "Let's Move!" dance exercise routine at the same time as other middle schools from across the country.

Watch it here or check out Channel 4 tonight.

5.2.11 Project Update

2011-05-03T13:40:00.000-04:00

Last night, the Board held a short budget forum followed by a reconvened meeting to discuss the renovation bid situation. Celli, Flynn, Brennan and PJ Dick gave an update on the significant areas of review that must be addressed before re-bidding the project:

Owner's conditions: these were developed with much Board input in order to address concerns that arose during previous construction programs. Our partners are soliciting feedback from bidders regarding what impact a standard AIA contract could have had on their bids.
Bid structure: They're also evaluating the impact using multiple versus a single prime contractor could have had. The Board and the CAC both favored going the single-prime route as a cost-savings measure but we need further evaluation regarding that premise.
Phasing: PJ Dick has already received some feedback from contractors regarding the challenges bidding on a nine-phase, 44-month project rather than a project of shorter duration. In addition to the savings in labor, estimating the cost of materials used four years from now is challenging. We will look into the possibility of condensing the cycle and storing materials in order to achieve cost savings in that area.
Construction elements: Our partners continue to evaluate this area in order to recommend modifications that do not impact our program.
Proprietary specifications: By opening specification options from 1-3 brand names to 7-9 brand names, bidders may be able to realize cost savings without impacting the quality or integrity of the project.

PJ Dick is working with the architects to develop a full report for the Board's consideration. They will be able to give us a better indication of when that report is available at our May 16 meeting. We'd like to have a clear understanding of when we can expect to discuss it but also want to give them enough time to do thorough, accurate work for our consideration.

This next step in this process will be to review modification recommendations, verify and evaluate potential cost savings and determine next steps in re-bidding the project. Our partners' resources are focused on developing recommendations that can be quantified and and we're looking forward to sharing their information when it's available.

4.18.11 Board President's Report

2011-04-26T18:16:00.001-04:00

I didn't have access to the internet last week and am still catching up. Mr. Ostergaard shared this President's Report during the 4/18 meeting in my absence:

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the Quest for Excellence Conference with Mr. Ostergaard, Dr. Steinhauer, Mr. Berg and Mr. Haberberger. This conference was an opportunity to learn best practices in continuous improvement from recent Baldrige Award recipients, including Montgomery Co., MD Public Schools. We’re looking forward to sharing information with the District as we prepare for development of the District’s next strategic plan.

By now, homes in the District should have each received a letter outlining details of the 2011-12 preliminary budget which we will take action on tonight with final budget approval next month. We will have a public forum to discuss the budget, which reflects no millage increase, on May 2 at 7:30 in the High School Library and we encourage you to attend or to provide feedback prior to approval at the May 16 Board meeting.

I’d like to remind everyone that you’re invited to a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, April 28 at 3:30 on the lawn in front of the High School Pool. We will be streaming the ceremony live on the District website for those unable to attend. (Note: this event has been postponed.)

Due to a high level of interest from contractors, we’ve extended the bid submittal deadline by one week and plan to take action on accepting bids at a special meeting on April 25. Shortly thereafter, we will begin construction. This will impact traffic and parking on campus and we will be communicating information about changes to parking and traffic throughout the 48-month construction cycle. We will communicate directly with parents and encourage members of the community to please visit the District web site for up-to-date information on a regular basis. We thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation.

Finally, I’d like to announce this month’s Extra Mile Award winner. This month’s Extra Mile Award goes to an elementary music teacher serving students at Howe and Hoover. Carol Froehlich emphasizes the importance of public performances by providing chorus students the opportunity to perform at a variety of venues including the Baptist Home, Pirates games, the Byham Theater, Baldwin High School and even a music video. In addition to her work with our elementary students, she’s also provided support to the high school’s vocal music program including spring musicals. Carol’s important contributions help support our best-of-class music program. Thank you, Carol, for providing our students great opportunities and for creating memories for our students and their families.

Project Update

2011-04-26T11:18:00.000-04:00

Last week, the District reviewed bids for the high school project that came in at $15.3 million, or 16.5 percent above the cost estimates provided by our construction manager and architect. Last night, the Board unanimously rejected the project bids. We gave the architect and construction manager direction to present an overview of potential issues with the scope of work and bid documents to us next month in order to consider next steps. Potential issues identified so far include the MEP system specifications, shoring packages, code-related factors, phasing, contractual language and possible design changes.

We are committed to development of a project that meets our programmatic needs at an investment level acceptable to the community and will continue to work with our architect and CM to accomplish that goal. Once they have a better understanding of what went wrong with the bid process we'll have a better understanding of next steps. I have charged the CM and architects to develop a new timeline by early May with the goal to rebid the project in the coming months.

We've received feedback from community members who are just as disappointed as we are with the results and with the delay this presents. A few members of the public have suggested putting the project to referendum, an exercise that will not solve issues related to how the project is bid. Our current referendum debt limit is now about $131 million, a number the Board finds just as unacceptable as the low bid received last week. It is not this Board’s intent to develop a project that comes anywhere close to that debt limit. We will continue to work closely with our construction manager, architect and attorneys to resolve the issues I mentioned in order to determine next steps.

This latest bump in the long road we've travelled is disappointing and disruptive. I apologize for the delay this has caused the community. We're each committed to finding solutions.

Reading PCP

2011-04-12T21:02:00.000-04:00

Last night the Board had further discussion on the 2011-12 Proposed Final Budget. While this budget reflects a 1.3% decrease from this year's budget and no millage increase, a Reading program change proposal (PCP) is included in our budget discussions. The costs for the PCP as recommended would be for textbooks and would come out of the capital fund over two years. The new texts would be Houghton Mifflin's Journeys program, a leveled, guided reading series that provides differentiated instruction for elementary students. These texts, along with the other secondary textbooks for adoption on Monday, are available for review at the assistant superintendent's office.

An unrelated update: As I mentioned last night, we've had great response from contractors regarding the high school renovation bid process. (About 75 contractors and subs attended the pre-construction meeting.) In order to ensure that all of their questions are answered with enough time for them to prepare accurate bids, we've extended the deadline by a week and will open bids next Tuesday. This pushes back action on acceptance of those bids by a week and we'll have a special meeting on Monday, April 25 exclusively for that action item. It will be at 7:30 PM in the High School Library.

Voucher Bill Passes Appropriations Committee

2011-04-12T11:21:00.001-04:00

Update: Senate GOP needs more time on voucher bill

The Senate may pass a bill as early as today that would make low-income students eligible for vouchers toward their tuition at a public or private school outside their district. A provision approved Monday would expand that eligibility to some middle-class students in the program's fourth year. The Board passed a resolution last month opposing this bill.

A recent Madonna poll showed that more than 60% of Pennsylvanians oppose vouchers. Schools receiving taxpayer dollars under SB1 would have virtually no academic performance requirements: no PSSAs, no AYP reporting, no public budgets, no public audits, no sunshine law and no right-to-know law requirements. States like Wisconsin and Ohio who currently have a voucher system have not been able to show that students receiving these vouchers perform better than their peers in traditional public schools.

While SB1 was originally targeted to families making under $29,000 in failing schools or school districts, as amended SB1 would offer vouchers to families earning up to $67,000, even if they live in top school districts and even if their children have never set foot in a public school. The Commonwealth will pay the costs of each student’s first year of voucher attendance at private school: an estimated $50 million the first year, $100 million in the second year, and an unknown amount in the third and later years.

Senator Pippy is co-sponsoring SB 1. I anticipate it passing the Senate but when it does, there are still many unanswered questions that will need to be resolved. Please take a look and reach out to Senator Pippy and to Representative Smith, who would be considering it when it comes before the House.

Pittsburgh Business Times School Ranking Edition

2011-04-08T17:34:00.001-04:00

This morning I received the April 8, 2011 Pittsburgh Business Times School Ranking Edition. Mt. Lebanon remains in the third place position among districts in the seven-county region. In the State rankings, Mt. Lebanon moved up one spot to number 6 this year. The rankings are based on three years' of PSSA test scores in math, reading, writing, and science.

Some of the highlights:

High School
The High School moved from number 4 last year to 2 this year.

Middle Schools
Both Mellon Middle School and Jefferson Middle School moved up one spot on the ranking for 8th grade.
Jefferson Middle School moved up one spot in 7th grade.

Elementary Schools
5th grade
Howe moved up 20 spots in the ranking from last year, from 24th last year to 4th this year.

4th grade
Howe moved up 37 spots
Foster moved up 4 spots
Jefferson moved up 14 spots

3rd grade
Howe moved up 4 spots
Markham moved up 11 spots
Jefferson moved up 21 spots
Foster moved up 8 spots