posted by Mike Madison at 11:01 AM /
October 14, 2009
Dear Mt. Lebanon Residents,
The Mt. Lebanon School Board may be forming a Community Advisory Board for the High School Project. Members of the School Board proposed forming this advisory board at the October 12, 2009 School Board Discussion meeting.
The purpose of the Community Advisory Board is to review the current design of the High School renovation/construction project with the architects from Celli-Flynn Brennan, OWP/P, and construction manager, P.J. Dick. There will be approximately 6 to 8 evening meetings held over the next 6 to 8 week period. It is anticipated that the work of the Community Advisory Board will be completed in early December, with a final report given to the School Board at that time. More information about the scope and structure of the Community Advisory Board will be available following the School Board meeting on October 19, 2009.
All Mt. Lebanon residents including design, construction, and education professionals are invited to submit an email or letter of interest along with their qualifications to Dr. Timothy Steinhauer by Oct. 23, 2009. The School Board will review the submissions and appoint up to nine members to the Community Advisory Board.
Interested residents may send an email or letter of interest with qualifications to:
Timothy J. Steinhauer
Superintendent
Mt. Lebanon School District
7 Horsman Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
tsteinhauer@mtlsd.net
Please note Community Advisory Board in subject line of the email or on the front of letter and include your contact information.
(My comment: This sounds very much like Dan Rothschild's recent proposal. Let's hope that the District and the School Board follow through with appointing a panel of indpendent thinkers, and that the District, Board, and the architects commit to listening to what the panel has to say.)
Labels: high school renovation
7 Comments:
This is a superb idea. The High School is a 50+ year, many millions of dollars decision.
While this isn't a bad idea, I think a more pressing matter should be appointed an overall project manager.
This evening the Mt. Lebanon School Board will vote on the formation of a new, late-breaking "Community Advisory Board" committee that will help to oversee the high school renovation project. Residents who are concerned about the future of the high school should note that not only is this new committee redundant, it may delay and/or impede progress on the high school renovation.
Since 2006, a number of qualified members of our community, including school district staff and professionals, have volunteered to serve on two committees whose sole purpose was to provide feedback on the creation of a high school that would meet 21st Century learning standards. The Ed. Spec Committee and the currently active Design Advisory Committee both have served in an advisory capacity.
So why form a new group?
Creating a new committee at the 11th hour with individuals who are neither up-to-speed or knowledgeable on the history behind many of the decisions made to date will only delay the process. Wouldn't a smarter and more prudent approach be to allow any latecoming volunteers to join the current Design Advisory Committee?
I encourage anyone concerned with the well-orchestrated progress to date of the high school renovation to attend this evening's school board meeting and express your concern regarding this new committee.
Thank you.
The Design Adisory Team has not met since January 6, 2009.
This is the last date the District sought the team's input.
Support the Community Advisory Board!
At last Monday's discussion meeting, I urged the School Board to support the formation of the Community Advisory Board (CAB). I did so because there is ample evidence to suggest that our current renovation plan can be improved upon, and even small improvements become meaningful when multiplied by a $100 million budget and a 48-month construction schedule.
Unless you are confident that our current plan is so close to perfection that even small improvements, say just 5 percent, are out of reach, I urge you to go to tonight's School Board meeting and speak in support of the CAB. It's likely to be a big win -- in both time and money -- for our students, for our taxpayers, for our entire community.
Here's why. Let's be pessimistic and assume the CAB yields only a 5-percent improvement over our current, $100-million plan. That "small" improvement represents a savings of $5 million, a savings that can be converted into new educational resources for our students -- 2 new teachers (for their entire careers), for instance. Likewise, if the CAB finds a way to simplify the project so that its construction schedule, currently estimated at 48 months, can be shortened by only 5 percent, that puts us 10 weeks closer to the finish line, more than enough to compensate for any delay the CAB might add to the overall process. So if you think the CAB can do just 5 percent better than our current plan, support it.
I can understand why residents like Deb Smit are concerned about delays -- this process has been long -- but if you do the math, even with pessimistic assumptions, you will see that the CAB is very likely save our comumnity both money and time. Therefore, if you are concerned about delays, support the CAB.
Why form a new group? Two reasons. First, fresh eyes are more likely to see overlooked opportunities. Second, one of the goals for the CAB is to reconcile our community to idea that the renovation plan is worthy of support. That goal becomes easier if the CAB is seen as an "outside" review panel rather than an outgrowth of the current process, which a good part of our community distrusts.
In sum, if you are concerned about getting the best High School we can, about getting it done for the best price, or about getting it done sooner rather than later -- then by all means support the formation of the Community Advisory Board. It's your best bet.
Cheers,
Tom
Update: The decision to form (or not to form) a Community Advisory Board was not settled at last night's School Board meeting. The Board struggled with the issue and finally tabled it.
It wasn't an easy decision for the Board, however. There was a long discussion, with ideas and arguments going back and forth across the table. The Board did agree on changing the name of the CAB to Community Advisory Committee (to clarify that it was an ad-hoc committee, not a board, which has more-burdensome reporting requirements). Some on-the-fly revisions were even proposed to the text of the motion; these were voted down. When it became undeniable that meaningful progress was unlikely, the Board President tabled the CAB issue and called a special meeting to decide it: the 29th of October.
Other interesting tidbits: Our architects, Celli-Flynn Brennan (CFB), astounded the board with their price tag for attending meetings of the CAB: $35 thousand per meeting. To this, the board expressed uniform bewilderment and outrage. Several members suggested that, at that price, Celli-Flynn Brennan need not participate at all. Mr. Hart "half joked" about moving to terminate the contract with CFB altogether. Mr. Remely said that the high price made him wonder whether Celli-Flynn Brennan was attempting to "kill" a review of their work. Mr. Fraasch, feeling likewise, said that he was now even more convinced that we need a CAB.
All in all, it was an exciting meeting.
Update on the update: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's coverage of last night's School Board meeting: Mt. Lebanon officials react adversely to architect's proposed fee.
(If you compare the PG's coverage to mine in the previous comment, you'll see that I wouldn't make a very good journalist: I buried the lead.)
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