posted by Mike Madison at 11:48 AM /
The most recent "Policy Brief" from the conservative free marketeers at the Allegheny Institute suggests just that. In the interest of promoting a healthy community discussion, I've reproduced the entire thing below.
Policy Brief
An electronic publication of
The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
March 25, 2008
Volume 8, Number 20
Crucial Decision Time Comes To Mt. Lebanon
After holding fairly steady for decades, Census estimates of Mt. Lebanon’s population point to a significant drop since 2000. The 2006 estimate of 30,836 represents a decline of 6.6 percent from the 33,017 figure recorded in 2000. This rate of decrease, if sustained, will lead to very serious consequences for the people, government and school system in this highly regarded Pennsylvania community.
Meanwhile, the school district’s earned income tax receipts (with a constant 0.5 percent tax rate) climbed only 12.9 percent over the seven years 2000 to 2007, a meager 1.7 percent yearly rate and about half the inflation rate over the period—meaning real income has declined. Earned income tax receipts measure the income households generated through salaries and wages earned by employed residents and net income of business owners living in Mt. Lebanon. It does not measure pension and Social Security income. Still, growth in earned income is an excellent indicator of general economic vitality. Thus, the anemic pace of earned income tax collection points to softness in the underpinnings of Mt. Lebanon’s economic well being.
Unfortunately, the municipal government and the school district have not taken into account the declining population and weak earned income growth in their budgeting decisions. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that non-capital expenditures for the municipality have risen by over 6 percent per year since 2000 while non-capital spending at the schools have climbed by almost 5 percent annually—in both instances several times faster than earned income growth. To support the rapid spending increases, property tax revenues for both the municipality and school district have risen in excess of 6 percent annually since 2000.
For the most part, the jump in real estate tax revenue reflects millage increases necessitated by the slow pace of earned income tax revenues and no growth in Mt. Lebanon’s total assessed property value. Indeed, since 2003 and following the last County reassessment and freeze in assessments, the school district has raised its millage rate by 30 percent or at an average yearly rate of 6.8 percent. Trailing the school district only slightly, the municipality has raised its millage rate 20 percent since 2003. Combined the municipal and school millages now stand at 28.35 mills, up 28 percent from 2003. With the county’s 4.69 mills included, total millage in Mt. Lebanon has reached 33.04 mills or 3.3 percent of assessed value, which in Allegheny County is 100 percent of the County’s estimate of base year (2002) market value.
In that regard, the assessed value of real estate in Mt. Lebanon has failed to increase over the last four years. In fact, the assessed value fell by 4.7 percent from 2006 to 2007, undoubtedly due to appeals.
Evidently, the school board that prepared the 2007-2008 budget completely missed the statistics presented in the previous paragraphs. They project tax revenue receipts will rise a further 17 percent over the next three budget years. With assessed value of real estate not rising and maybe even dropping further, a 17 percent increase in revenues implies hefty millage rate hikes. And this is to occur even though enrollment is projected to slip nearly three percent (148 students) over the next three years and there is a planned matching three percent reduction (14 teachers) in the instructional staff.
According to historical data in its 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the district had 5,659 students in 1998 along with 372 teachers and a pupil to teacher ratio of 15.2. From 1998 to 2005, the teaching staff rose to 431, a 16 percent increase or 59 additional instructors. By 2005 the student enrollment had dipped to 5,505, which, combined with the jump in teaching staff, had lowered the pupil to teacher ratio to 12.8. Assuming that a large part of teacher’s workload (grading tests and papers, evaluating assignments, individualized attention, maintaining discipline, etc.) is proportional to the number of students, the decline in pupil to teacher ratio means the teacher’s classroom workload was reduced by close to 16 percent.
From 2005 to 2007, the student count continued to fall, dropping to 5,436, and the number of instructors was lowered to 424, leaving the pupil to teacher ratio at 12.8. Unfortunately, as measured by one of the key indicators of academic success, Mt. Lebanon—a perennial state leader in test scores—has seen no net improvement in SAT results from 1998 to 2007. In 1998, the district posted an average combined math and reading SAT score of 1152. In 2007, the combined average SAT score was 1141.
In effect, the large rise in current and future personnel expenditures necessitated by the increased teacher count have produced no meaningful improvement in the basic test of academic achievement. Granted, the district was near the top of the state’s public schools in 1998 and is still there. Boosting scores from the already high level is very difficult. But that begs the question: If a 15.2 pupil to teacher ratio was able to accomplish the excellent results of 1998, why was it necessary to engage in a substantial spending increase to get so little in return? Did the kids suddenly become harder to teach? Were teachers suddenly unable to perform as well in the past?
The problem is that now with the pupil to teacher ratio having been lowered it will be forcefully argued the district can never go back to the 1998 student-teacher ratio for fear academic results will plummet. This is a classic spending trap and typical of the decisions that ratchet government spending ever higher.
It is instructive to compare the tax burden of other school districts in the region to those in Mt. Lebanon. This can be done by using the ratio of actual real estate taxes collected by the school district to the market value of property as calculated by the State Tax Equalization Board. The school property tax burden in Mt. Lebanon is 2.58 percent of market value. For Mars Area schools in Butler County the ratio is 1.37 percent, for Seneca Valley in Butler the ratio is 1.47 and for Peters’ schools in Washington County the ratio is 1.7 percent. Bear in mind that Peters students scored at almost the same level of advanced and proficient as Mt. Lebanon on the state’s PSSA tests.
In short, Mt. Lebanon property owners are paying 50 percent more school taxes per dollar of market value than Peters property owners and 88 percent more than Mars Area district property tax payers.
The bottom line to this discussion is that Mt. Lebanon and Mt. Lebanon schools have become unnecessarily and excessively burdensome for the community’s taxpayers. Unless or until the tax burdens are reduced, the outflow of people, the decline in real wage income and slide in school enrollment will almost certainly continue. As that happens, the high tax burden has to be paid by fewer residents and becomes more onerous for those who remain. It is a scenario that just gets worse over the long run.
Absent a major upturn in the economic fortunes of the region and Allegheny County in the near future, which would seem to be a remote possibility at this point, it is absolutely essential that Mt. Lebanon and the school district immediately begin to rein in costs, cut spending and lower tax rates. Time is not a friend of municipal government or school district budget makers.
Jake Haulk, Ph.D., President
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Labels: mt lebanon school district, taxes
16 Comments:
Mary Birks sent me a link to a report on public education costs in PA, prepared for the PA State Board of Education. Here is the link: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/stateboard_ed/lib/stateboard_ed/PA_Costing_Out_Study_rev_12-07.pdf.
That study was produced in response to a request for a report analyzing "the basic cost per pupil to provide an education that will permit a student to meet the State’s academic standards and assessments,” which "include achieving mastery of state standards in 12 academic areas
and universal student proficiency in reading and math by 2014."
That's interesting, but it doesn't respond to the question raised by the Allegheny Institute report, which is the cost of public education relative to the declining population and school enrollment in Mt. Lebanon, relative to the relatively unchanged performance levels of Mt. Lebanon students, and relative to benchmarks in other suburban communities -- which may or may not be fair benchmarks.
I'm not sure what precise conclusions can be drawn about educational funding in Lebo by reviewing the stats in these reports, but I think one thing remains clear: unlike the last 4 decades, Lebo can no longer sell itself to newcomers on the strength of its schools alone. The commission (which has largely been allowed to sit back and ride on the coat tails of the school board) is now being thrust in to the forefront. What is the plan to attract businesses and individuals to our community? How do we curtail our shrinking tax base? I raised this point during the election and was told that I should "wait and see" all of the exciting things that are in store for Lebo in terms of business development. Anyone have any updates?
A reader who wishes to remain anonymous gave me permission to post this comment:
"[D]oesn’t the report you cite fail to take into consideration things like: (1) increases in the number of identified special ed and esl students in our district and the increased use of personal teacher aides to further the goal of mainstreaming education for all children; (2) the addition of specialized education programs like the elementary school foreign language program and technology education in the middle and high schools which required the hiring of teachers to deliver those classes but which keep our district competitive in our region and therefore attractive to new home buyers; (3) the addition of “curriculum supervisors” to track the delivery and modification of core curriculum system-wide (which required replacing those teachers)? My sense, over the past 13 or so years, is that the additional staff is not based on free-wheeling spending, but on programs that keep our district competitive in our region or, in the case of special ed students, make the goal of mainstreaming possible."
Since I'm quoting someone else's comment, I'll post the core of my reply:
"Maybe so; I really don't know the in's and out's of the numbers. That's why I put the report out there -- so that people could discuss it on the blog.
I do think that the basic thrust of the report is right -- the overall price tag of the School District is unsustainable. Either services will have to be cut, or the tax bill will keep going up. Without new revenue sources, the District (and the municipality) are looking at trouble down the road."
I have to really disgest the report and want to look at the report Mary Birk's provided too before reaching any personal conclusions. As a 2007 home purchaser I agree with Dave. We can no longer rely on the schools alone as an attraction for newcomers.
Additionally troubling is the competition we face in terms of housing stock. I love the houses here but grew up here and appreciate "Mt. Lebanon Charm" as the real estate agents say. Others look to Peters or Cranberry for the newer construction, modern baths/kitchens and more space. Many of the houses here are worn out and/or not maintained. When I was in the market I walked out of too many houses with major expenses/repairs (not just cosmetics) from years of failing to keep up the maintenance. If your choosing between a house here or a new construction you then ask yourself, how does Lebo measure up in the school factor to North Allegheny or Peters? or even Char Valley which has come a long way. Probably pretty comparable give the fact most districts are losing local control/capabilities to make the schools stand out in the face of no child left behind uniformity. I bought here but I am biased as an alum.
On the issue of why we haven't seen progress with the students. I guess I thought the SAT scores were higher. Wasn't that in the news how Mt. Lebanon did very well on the new SAT? I have heard some parents complain the teachers are either one foot out the door into retirement or newly minted. Could that factor in? (If that state of transition is true?)
Its a school question but also a community question...why are we not attracting the homebuyers and the income base? I think you'll be waiting a long time for "exciting" plans based on politician promises.
I'm certainly glad to have people discussing what we get for the taxes we pay, but I'd like to point out that this report by the Allegheny Institute is using statistics in misleading ways, and failing to look at likely causes of the declines in school population and SAT scores.
First, SAT scores have declined both nationally and in the state over the past 10 years; the fact that Mt. Lebanon held steady in the face of that is actually a sign of doing a good job. Second, the 2006 scores are from the new SAT test -- which is different enough from the earlier test that it's unfair to compare those scores with ones on the old SAT test, at least at this point. Even among elite high school seniors (those applying to Ivy League schools) scores on the 2006 SAT declined dramatically; our decline is similar (see http://www.districtadministration.com/newssummary.aspx?news=yes&postid=16906 for national trends
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/11/education/11sat.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
for an article on the 2006 trend).
Although there's no consensus at this point for the reasons behind the dropping SAT scores, it's likely that they do at least in part reflect societal changes that Mt. Lebanon is experiencing too -- like more special needs and ESL students taking the test -- and aren't necessarily an indication of a decline in teaching.
By the way, the Allegheny Institute abruptly shifts to comparing Mt. Lebanon and Peters on the PSSAs (a test with a notoriously low ceiling) instead of the SATs. How does Peters compare on that test?
As for the drop in school population, that too reflects national trends. Next year represents the top of the bump for the baby boomers' baby boom, and class sizes all over the country are declining -- for now. I recently saw an article noting a sudden new baby boom, but those kids won't be entering kindergarten for another 5 years.
I look around my neighborhood, and there are no houses sitting empty, nor do housing prices seemed to have declined noticeably, bucking the national trend. I do see that we have more very young couples moving into replace families that have left; their kids aren't yet in the district (or even born), but nonetheless, our school system is a major reason those couples chose Mt. Lebanon.
Are incomes perhaps smaller or rising more slowly among my neighbors? Yes, but again, that's consistent with a national trend and I don't think a sign that Mt. Lebanon is going down the tubes.
By the way, I am not a Mt. Lebanon alum, and I'm often a critic of what I've seen as stagnation in Mt. Lebanon's educational approach. But with a 2nd child poised to graduate, and a 3rd at the halfway point in high school, even I have to admit my kids have done quite well. Is there room for improvement? Yes, but I don't think cutting the budget dramatically will help education or our community's draw in the long run. I don't like paying high taxes any more than the next person, but I'd hate to cut the taxes and then lose the value of my home.
The “costing” report adds absolutely nothing to this discussion. Unless it is important to note that Mt. Lebanon spent $556/student (about $3,000,000) more than needed to meet PA academic targets.
The quid pro quo we have with the District (on behalf of the Community’s youth) is to exceed the state performance goals. The very good news is the District handily succeeds at this task. Thank you!
The bad news is the growth rate of noncapital expenditures per MTL student outpaces inflation in general and MTL personal income growth in particular. (Residents need cash to pay their taxes.)
A much worse ranking: For a recent 10 year period, MTL ranked 27th out of 43 Allegheny County school districts for personal income growth. Essentially, we ranked at the top of the bottom third.
1995-2005
Mt. Lebanon Personal Income Growth: 1.8% per year
Inflation: 2.46% per year
Allegheny County Personal Income Growth: 2.57% per year
MTLSD Noncapital Expenditures Growth: 3.62% per year
This growth rate in expenditures is not sustainable, in light of current and foreseeable socioeconomic conditions. It will also not be corrected in one budget cycle. It will be a journey. Kudos to the folks taking the first steps and generating some extremely rare discussion. Let’s give them a chance at genuine dialogue.
I am confident they understand:
You cannot save your way to prosperity, but you can certainly spend your way into oblivion.
I wanted to add some extra facts to my earlier post regarding teh Allegheny Institute's assertion that Mt. Lebanon is doing no better than Peters, with regard to test scores. First, it's true that we have similar proportions of students in the Advanced and Proficient categories of the PSSA's -- but as I asserted earlier, that fact is an artifact of a very low ceiling for the PSSA's. About 2/3 of the students in both districts score at the advanced level according to the PDE statistics -- and most people are tall, if your measuring tape only goes to 5' 4". The PSSAs simply don't provide enough information to assess differences between already high achieving districts. On the SATs, though, Mt. Lebanon significantly outperformed Peters in 2007: Peters' mean Reading SAT was 532 versus 568 for Mt. Lebanon; Peters' mean Math SAT was 544 versus 573. (See this site:http://www.pde.state.pa.us/pas/lib/pas/PUBLIC_SCHOOL_SAT_2007.pdf for data) Such a large difference is not only statistically significant but meaningful -- more than 60 points combined, which could affect college admissions and scholarship decisions.
The other statistic that commenters have focused on is Mt. Lebanon's low income growth. BUT, when your per capita income is high to begin with, growth will tend to be less than it is at the lower end of the scale (look at what happens, for example, to a teacher's income when s/he reaches the top level in the district). Nonetheless, I do understand that our costs are growing at a faster rate than our incomes, meaning that our taxes will take a proportionately bigger bite from our paychecks. That does not mean, however, that it isn't worth it -- and figuring out whether it is is complicated. Partly it depends on the absolute size of the increase (e.g., are you paying an extra $50 per year or an extra $1000) and partly it depends on how paying more affects the value of your home (would it drop or gain much more slowly if we cut the school budget?), and partly, of course, it depends how you value better education for the children of our community (or feel that they're getting it by paying more). Not easy questions to tease out the answers to. My gut still tells me that my taxes are worth it, and when it stops saying that, I'll move.
If you do want to find a way to cut school costs without affecting the quality of instruction in our district, take a look at how we might opt out of current and future state-mandated testing. NCLB and graduation exit testing are outrageously expensive and provides little useful data for high-end districts like ours. It thus becomes money that we're just throwing away.
At a recent school board meeting there were a number of people who spoke about their concerns over the possible increase in property taxes. Rather than try to marshal my thoughts in a five minute sound bite at one of the meetings, I thought I would rather present my comments in this form.. Since our last child graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School, we have gladly paid more than $100,000 in property taxes. I say gladly, because I have a business that allows me to live anywhere in the world. When we moved to Mt. Lebanon from Chicago many years ago, it was specifically because of the school district. After I took a job with an engineering firm in Pittsburgh, I commuted for over a month, flying back to Chicago on week-ends. During the week I looked at houses throughout the Pittsburgh area. Since we had never lived here before, and knew no one in the area, I had to depend on realtors for information on the neighborhoods and what they offered. On one occasion, the realtor talked about the schools in the area we were looking at, as “ranked right up there with the Mt. Lebanon School district”. When I spoke with my wife that night on the phone, I told her that I had to look at this place that everyone else was almost as good as. After two days of looking around Mt. Lebanon, I told Sarah that it was the only place in the Pittsburgh area that fit 100% of our requirements. We have never regretted that decision. About a year after we moved here, a neighbor came to the house one afternoon, with a petition she wanted me to sign, demanding that the property taxes be lowered. I told her that she was talking to the wrong person. I explained that we had left a very nice, middle class area in Chicago, where, without exception, every person on our street sent their children to private schools because the Chicago public schools were so dismal. I went on to explain that when I looked at the difference in property taxes that I paid in Chicago and what I paid in Mt. Lebanon and added the cost of tuition that I would have to pay in Chicago, I thought I had a bargain living here. As an interesting aside, I recently went on line and looked up the current property tax on the house we had in Chicago, and found that it is roughly the same as what we pay now in Mt. Lebanon, and the Chicago schools have not improved much in 30 years. Since we moved here our property taxes are a bit more than double what they were 30 years ago. Would I sell my house for double what I paid 30 years ago? Of course not! Mt. Lebanon is a unique community. I have lost count of the times that we have had foreign visitors watching me cook steaks on the grill in the back yard and marvel at the idea of being able to live in an area where the houses are not surrounded by high walls with glass imbedded in the top of the wall or topped with razor wire. There are hundreds of gated communities in this country, where people pay large fees for their personal security. I feel very comfortable being surrounded by like-minded people, rather than razor wire. This school system attracts certain types of people that have the same values and the same concerns that I have. This is why our school system is, and always should be the focal point of this community. During their formative years, our children spent time in the same fashion as the children today; e.g., ballet classes, soccer, baseball, and scouting. They had the opportunity to participate in a wonderful array of offerings from the school district that helped create who they are today. Did the classes in art, music and theater make them smarter or better people? No, but it did give them windows on the world that did make them more educated, compassionate and above all, more interesting people. I have spent my career involved with engineering and engineered products. I fully appreciate the importance of the sciences and mathematics, but I also understand the need for developing good communication skills. The knowledge of the smartest engineer or scientist in the world will be lost, if he cannot tell anyone what he knows. Some school districts when faced with budget constraints instantly look to the arts programs as the first place to cut. I hope the board does not make that mistake. They must look judiciously at everything, but they must do so on a long term basis. Their thoughts must always be for the long range and not the immediate. Some people suggest that Mt. Lebanon is shrinking in population and therefore, we will see a continuing loss of students and tax base as well. I would suggest that the board look at two factors. First, there will be very few new houses every built in Mt. Lebanon again; there is no more vacant land. This scarcity of course will always continue to increase the property values. Second, the demographics of this community have always fluctuated and always will. Look at the past fluctuations and the long term trends, not what happened last month or even last year. School board members are not elected as Democrats or Republicans. They are elected as citizens of our community whose primary job is the care and education of the children. Not to long ago, one of the board members was asked how a certain action or decision would affect their constituents. The response was that this board members’ constituents are the children of Mt. Lebanon and every decision would be based on how it affected them. If they use their position to advance a personal agenda, then they have disgraced their office and failed those who voted for them. Although they must also be fiscally responsible to the tax payers, they should not lose sight of the primary purpose of this school district, supplying the finest education possible to our children. As in many other areas of life, we generally get what we pay for. I am happy to continue paying for the future generations of Mt. Lebanon.
According the recent Costing Out Study, Mt. Lebanon actual spends $200 less than what the study says it should spend, per student, to provide an education adequate enough to help students meet the state standards.
This study was commissioned by the state and was conducted by Augenblick, Palaich & Associates, Inc. (http://www.apaconsulting.net/). APA has conducted similar studies across the country. In their report, APA notes:
"What is true, regardless of one's views on the current condition of school funding, is that many state education finance systems have not addressed the question of what it really costs to meet student performance expectations. In many states, including Pennsylvania, policymakers have developed academic standards and timetables to achieve performance expectations, and they have created accountability systems with consequences for schools and districts when expectations are not met. Most often, however, these expectations and consequences are created without understanding what it costs for schools and districts to meet desired outcomes."
The purpose of this report is to show what it costs to provide every student with a basic education so that state standards are met. As we know, in our community, most of this cost must come from local revenues since what we receive from the state and federal governments is minimal.
In determing what it costs to educate a student, APA uses three key "cost elements". These include:
1) The "base cost" of educating an average student in the Commonwealth to meet state performance expectations. The base cost does not include food service costs, transportation costs, costs associated with community services, adult education, capital costs, or debt service costs.
2) Cost "weights" for educating students with special needs (including students in poverty, special education students, gifted students and English language learners) to meet student performance standards.
3) Additional "cost factors" associated with differences between school districts based on their size, enrollment trends, and regional cost of living.
According to APA the average cost for educating a typical Pennsylvania student is $12,057 in 2005-06. This includes only educational costs (see #1 above). If you read through the report, Appendix F (p. 68) you will find a list of every school district in the state and how much APA has calculated they spend per student to achieve state standards (as measured by the PSSA) and based on those factors listed under #2 & 3 above. Looking at this information, Mt. Lebanon actually spent, in 2005-06, $200 less than APA calculates is needed to meet state standards.
You can also find in this report that Mt. Lebanon was one of 61 school districts APA studied as a "successful school district" and an example of the kind of educational program needed to meet state standards. This study does not account for the costs of any "extras" and does not take into account those subjects many colleges expect students to have mastered like technology, science, foreign language, etc.
Another reader who wishes to comment anonymously sent me this. I'm posting this not because the blog's policy on anonymity has changed (it hasn't) but because the topic is important, because the comments raise important points, and because I'm willing to attach my own name -- and supplemental/responsive comments -- to them.
"I know I shouldn't be but I am absolutely astonished at the level of ignorance on behalf of people who blame the support of Mt. Lebanon special needs kids for the majority of the budget issues in this District.
Did anybody else go through the list of PCPs for the last few years at the last budget meeting? How about for the current budget? In this current budget there is a SINGLE PCP for the addition of a new position to support special needs. This position is funded 90% by state and/or federal funding. 90%!!!
My feeling on special needs is this, and as much was said last night by one of the teachers who was a presenter on the panel at the SEAC meeting; one of the goals of the people in the special needs faculty is to make their job irrelevant. That is, if they do their job correctly and competently, then many of the kids that are labeled special needs will be mainstreamed and enrolled in regular education classes as the student improves and progresses. What higher goal could there be of the special ed department! Please try to comprehend the profound effect this has on the community of Mt Lebanon and society as a whole when you can take these children, work tirelessly with them, and help turn them into future productive citizens. A dollar invested here is a dollar well spent.
That was my high horse. Let me get down from there for a second and talk strictly about the budget and try to answer the question about whether Mt Lebanon spends too much on its schools.
The answer to that is a clear and resounding yes. This can be traced directly to the hiring of too many staff. As the article written by Mr. Haulk points out, our headcount has ballooned while test scores have stagnated or even retracted.
Is this all that surprising? You have a district that is paying almost $1.5 million a year for a Foreign Language in the Elementary School Program that required the hiring of something to the effect of 8 or 9 teachers. Are our kids tested on the PSSA in Spanish or German? How about on the SAT or ACT? There is absolutely a need for Lebo to have a range of classes for their students. This helps contribute to the mission of the school district and the community to turn out well-rounded kids. However, when you decide to use my tax dollars to fund kindergarteners taking spanish, I start to question the District's priorities. That focus away from our core programs does not help our students with their PSSA and SATs later on.
This district has added program after program to enhance our children's learning but at what cost? We have reached a point in the budget where choices need to be made. Last Monday there was a slew of people who spoke on the side of rasing millage. I dont even know how many people said the actual words 'RAISE MY TAXES' but it was a lot. One gentleman, and I will spare his name, actually came out and said, hey, old people, if you want to complain about your taxes getting raised, then put your house on the market and leave! Can you imagine that? Well you dont have to because it happened!
Hey mister, what do you think would happen to your oh-so-important home value if 70% of the population that does not have kids in the district just up and put their house on the market? What would happen to your tax burden? I guarantee that you would not be able to afford the extra tax burden.
Let me sum up by saying this. We have a choice to make. We can face our mistakes courageously, confident we can meet the challenge while rebuilding a more sustainable future for our children and our residents; or we can choose to continue to let greed of excess drag us along the road to ruin. I personally hope the Board chooses to make the hard choices today to save us from drastic, draconian measures later."
Um -- yes. Absolutely.
This may only fuel the fire, but the P-G published a link today listing teacher's salaries in PA. I love Mt. Lebanon and our schools, but $87,000 for some 3rd grade teachers (plus pension and benefits) -- wow!!
A posting above noted:
"If you read through the report, Appendix F (p. 68) you will find ... Mt. Lebanon actually spent, in 2005-06, $200 less than APA calculates is needed to meet state standards."
So I went back to Appendix F (p. 68) and this is what my copy reports for MTLSD:
Comparison Spending per Pupil: $10,648
Costing Out Estimate per Pupil: $10,092
Total Difference per Pupil: $556
It would make no sense to say that MTLSD needed to spend more money to meet "state standards." We exceed them as it is and further we consistently rank in the TIPPY TOP of high schools in SAT rankings.
To say we are not spending enough money to meet PA standards is to say the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania doesn't have a prayer.
Mr. Matthews is correct and what I posted above is wrong. APA has issued two reports. The first had an incorrect calculation and that was the copy that I had. Sorry for the confusion.
However, it still must be noted that this study is just about what it costs to meet standards in reading and math. We should want more than that for our children.
Here is the link that Dave is referring to. You can select Allegheny County and then Mt. Lebanon School District to see the salaries of all of our district's teachers.
http://php.app.com/PAteachers0607/search.php
Below is the article from P-G yesterday that included the link to the database. The organization pulled this database together b/c 60% of the United States teacher strikes occur in PA.
I know that people are going to try and spin this into "are you saying that teachers are not important and don't deserve that salary etc". Teacher are very important and I respect the hell out of them...their union is another story.
My takeaways from querying the database are:
1) I have a hard time believing that just because someone earned a Masters in 1975 and have been teaching in the same school district for 20+ years that they are 200% better of a teacher then their younger peers.
2) highest paid teachers does not= best teachers
3) The really curious salary information to research is what the curriculum coordinators are making. Or perhaps when did they start adding teachers for Spanish in the grade school.
4)It is no secret that the school board back around 2003-2006 thought they were playing with a windfall when the School Board started appealing new property owners. Boy that was smart..penalize the new young families who actually contribute to the EIT. So now you seen enrollment down, tax basis down, yet they keep adding teachers
5) As you scan the database (which I am sure many of you will)...make sure that you reduce your annual salary by 30% before comparing to your child's teacher. This will take into account that you had to work 245 days per year to reach your annual take home..whereas the teacher worked 175'sh days. I won’t even mention the pension or benefits.
6) I think budgets should be based on reality..Lebo needs to go on a diet and think of creative ways to attract young families..we cannot rest on the headlines of days gone by "Lebo has great schools"..there are allot of great schools in our area.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08087/868425-100.stm
http://php.app.com/PAteachers0607/search.php
Pa. public school teacher salaries available online
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
An organization opposed to teacher strikes in Pennsylvania today announced that residents can now see the names and salaries of every public school teacher in the state.
StopTeacherStrikes, Inc., based in eastern Pennsylvania, is publicizing a Web site featuring a database created by the Asbury Park Press of New Jersey.
In a news release, the group's founder, Simon Campbell, said: "Freedom of information has combined with freedom of the press to shatter the union-promoted myth of the underpaid teacher in Pennsylvania."
He said 82 of the nation's 137 teacher strikes occurred in Pennsylvania over the past five school years.
The group is backing legislation that would outlaw such strikes.
$82K for a school nurse? What are they doing, performing emergency appendectomies? Jordan, liked the points you made particularly your number 6. The question is how do we go about this "diet" and attraction of newcomers in the smartest way. We have always been a community full of talent. Not just artistic, smart or athletic kids but adults with talents and skills in the professions, managerial/business fields, entrepreneurs even some of those academic types *cough cough* In effect Mt. Lebanon is a brain trust in and of itself in the talent set we hold among the folks who live here. (This may account for why those who choose to be involved can be so passionate in their positions). Obviously we look to the comm'n and sch bd for formal decision-making but how can we tap our biggest resource (us!) to think and act outside the box to improve what needs improved in the smartest ways, to highlight and get the word out about all that is great here (and there is a lot).
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