posted by Joe Polk at 12:36 PM /
Mt. Lebanon commissioner Matthew Kluck is organizing an invitation-only "town hall meeting" that will take place Saturday morning in the commission chambers of the municipal building.
The meeting, titled "Perspectives on Living in and Governing a Highly Taxed Community" and scheduled for 9:30 to 11 a.m., will include a panel discussion about local economy issues, according to an e-mail from Mr. Kluck sent to the Mt. Lebanon commission and Municipal Manager Stephen Feller.
The Post-Gazette obtained e-mails sent from Mr. Kluck about the town hall event through a Right to Know request.
"I'm not doing this in official capacity," Mr. Kluck said Monday. "I'm doing this as an individual who want to provide a forum for people."
Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/10238/1082703-55.stm
The meeting, titled "Perspectives on Living in and Governing a Highly Taxed Community" and scheduled for 9:30 to 11 a.m., will include a panel discussion about local economy issues, according to an e-mail from Mr. Kluck sent to the Mt. Lebanon commission and Municipal Manager Stephen Feller.
The Post-Gazette obtained e-mails sent from Mr. Kluck about the town hall event through a Right to Know request.
"I'm not doing this in official capacity," Mr. Kluck said Monday. "I'm doing this as an individual who want to provide a forum for people."
Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/10238/1082703-55.stm
Labels: matthew cluck, town hall meeting
8 Comments:
I’d like them to consider the impact of my school tax proposal on the municipal budget, which was:
1. As John Ewing correctly suggested [in the context of a Turf field request], those requesting should raise private funds.
2. Consolidate the schools, employ service delivery, eliminate programs, reduce the staff, and cut the taxes.
3. Exempt any Mt Lebanon residential property owner over the age of 65 from municipal school district taxes.
4. Increase the school district wage tax to address any funding shortfall.
I'd like to see our community to start thinking about giving the bill to the people that keep asking for provisions rather than sticking it to elderly residents who've already given so much.
As a specific goal - I'd like to see the school district maintain the current quality of education in core academic areas while reducing the staff by 50% over a five year period.
My school tax proposal will have an impact on municipal services and subsequently the municipal budget.
I also think that it’s nice of the commissioner to meet with those who are interested in community issues.
The second thing the school district and the municipality need to do is to encourage Mr. Franklin to come up with the $8-Million he and the athletic supporters have promised the school district.
The first thing to be done is for Mr. Franklin to come up with a logical plan to raise that $8-Million.
I suggest Mr. Franklin and his athletic supporter friends offer a $3-Million matching challenge grant to encourage others to make a donation to the turf and lighting of Mellon field, the turf on Dixon field and other projects that are included in the $8-Million Entitlement List these folks want from the school district and municipality.
Maybe the School District should provide Mr. Franklin with a payment plan?
I suggest a lay-away plan for the athletic supporters because of their 20-year history of defaulting on their promises.
John K,
I personally want to see us improve the current quality of education, not simply maintain it, but your goal of improved operational efficiency is nonetheless a worthy one.
Do you have data to show that other districts are achieving levels of education comparable or better to ours with half the staff (twice the classroom size, I assume)? If we put this challenge to the district, is there credible evidence that they should be able to meet it?
Mr. Kendrick, I'm intrigued by your proposal. Please tell us (1) what programs should be cut, (2) how many teachers should be cut, (3) what class size is manageable and (4) which schools should be close?
Mr. Franklin,
I'll be happy to - right after YOU and the athletic supporters provide the $8MM that you promised.
Until the $8MM arrives, I will think of you as, "The 8-Million Dollar Man".
Matt C Wilson,
Yes, there is credible evidence available from a number of sources. I would challenge you to find several sources and I will compare my sources with yours if you have a true interest in making a proposal. I would also like you to have additional information concerning my credible proposal.
If you examine the last three budgets:
• The distribution of expenses and revenue are stable over the last three year period, so we can extrapolate one year forward with reasonable accuracy.
• Staff salaries and fringe benefits account for approximately 75% of the annual school district expenditures. The three year average for salaries is approximately $41MM and the three year average for Earned Income tax is approximately $14MM.
• The Real Estate Tax accounts for approximately 67% of the annual school district revenue. The three year average expenditure for The Real Estate Tax is approximately $50MM.
• The Earned Income Tax accounts for approximately 8% of the annual school district revenue. The three year average expenditure for The Real Estate Tax is approximately $6MM.
If we assume that 2/3 of the real estate tax revenue is lost by exempting any Mt Lebanon residential real estate owner over the age of 65 then the real estate tax revenue would be approximately $16.5MM after the tax relief is enacted, or a loss of $33.5MM
If we target a 50% staff reduction then the salaries and benefits following the enactment of my proposal would total approximately $20.5MM and $7MM respectively, for a savings of $27.5MM.
If we increase the earned income tax to cover the $6MM difference then the earned income tax rate would approximately double as the tax incidence shifts to a younger demographic.
The staff reductions would come from school consolidation and the elimination of programs:
• My vision is to have a single elementary school, a single Junior High School, and a single High School.
• I would close all of the existing elementary schools and use one either the Mellon School or the Jefferson School as "The Elementary School".
• I would use either the Mellon or the Jefferson School as "The Junior High School".
• The High School would remain where it is.
• I would sell any school that is not being used under my plan and use the proceeds from the sale to finance any changes that may be needed to the Mellon or Jefferson schools and then I'd use any remaining amounts to reduce the district's long-term debt.
• The program reductions would be determined by beginning with state mandated educational requirements and incrementally adding programs as the budget or private contributions allow, but always within the guiding principle of achieving the financial goals that I outlined above.
• I would employ service delivery using professional providers like Blackboard. The classroom presentations would be digitized and available "on-demand". These presentations could be shared or sold to other districts, and other districts could also contribute or sell their presentations into a collective pool that would be available to all Pennsylvania school students. This option would add additional academic programs at a lower cost per program .
• It is my belief that the quality of a digitized classroom presentation exceeds the quality of a traditional lecture, in part because:
o The lecturer is better prepared knowing that they are being recorded;
o The students can freely rewind the material and listen to the content when they have either missed the message or don't understand what is being communicated.
I do not have a specific list of programs that would be eliminated, but a program like the athletic program that is unable to provide the district with funding through private contribution, particularly when they have failed to fulfill their prior pledge, would be a candidate.
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