School Board to Give New School Superintendent a Raise and Contract Extension (Updated 2)

Update 2010-10-18: As expected, the school board voted at tonight’s meeting to extend the superintendent’s contract by one year and raise his salary by 4.5 percent. The first vote was unanimous; the second 8-1, with James Fraasch dissenting.

[There’s been a lot of discussion about whether giving the new school superintendent a raise and a contract extension is a good idea, given the school district’s well-publicized problems of late. The Blog-Lebo portion of that discussion has occurred, so far, as an off-shoot of a completely unrelated story. But it’s clear that there’s interest enough in the topic to merit a story of its own, so here it is. —Tom]

On Monday, 11 October, 2010, the school board revealed at its discussion meeting that it intends to extend the contract of the new school superintendent, Dr. Timothy Steinhauer.

Steinhauer was hired by the school board on 8 June, 2009, to replace superintendent John Allison, who had left the school district after receiving an attractive offer from Wichita Public Schools in Kansas.

Steinhauer’s contract was to expire on 30 June, 2013, but the school board, expressing praise for Steinhauer and his performance, intends to extend it by one year at the school-board meeting on 18 October, 2010. The extended contract will expire on 30 June, 2014.

“I have been pleased with [Steinhauer’s] performance... We have suffered from a little uncertainty in the superintendent’s position in the previous couple of years, and I hope that by the contract extension and other provisions we can secure the position for Dr. Steinhauer, for the foreseeable future,” said Ed Kubit, president of the school board, during Monday’s discussion meeting.

The school board also intends to give Steinhauer a 4.5% raise, increasing his starting salary of $140,000 per year to $146,300.

What do you think?

I’ve already revealed that I’m taking a favorable view of the raise and contract extension, a view I expect many people to find surprising. Based on the emails I’m getting, I know many of you don’t agree with me. So if you have something to say, either way, now’s your chance: Let’s hear it.

Updated 2010-10-17 15:20 with quotation from Ed Kubit, school board president.

Letter: School District Website Reflects Poorly on the District and the Community

In this letter to the editors of Blog-Lebo, Elaine Gillen, who runs the website lebocitizens.com, argues that our school district is neglecting its online presence, for all to see. —Tom

School District Website Reflects Poorly on the District and the Community

For several months now, I have been asking the School District to update its website. At a June 14, 2010 school board meeting, I pointed out the deficiencies on the sadly neglected School District’s Balanced Scorecard, the District’s five-year strategic plan. It has yet to be updated.

Starting with Dr. Timothy Steinhauer’s “Welcome to the Superintendent’s Website,” which is embarrassingly labeled “Welcome to Superintendent John Allison's Web Pages,” Dr. Steinhauer encourages us to take a look at the website. The goal, we are told, “is to provide visitors with useful, up-to-date information about our District.” He further suggests to visit his blog and read his latest board report. That would be December 2009.

The School Board President’s reports are a little more up to date. The last report posted had been February 15, 2010 – until I had requested an update. Now there is one from July 19, 2010.

Hang on folks, because it gets better. On the District’s home page, there have been numerous spelling errors. The latest one prompted an enlightening email exchange. When I first received Dr. Steinhauer’s response (click the “email exchange” link in the previous sentence to read it), I thought it was odd that he used the word, “Monitor.” I am being encouraged to visit it in his welcome letter, but when I check for information, I am monitoring it?

My second thought was how the District does not have spell check built in their website software. Shouldn’t we have software with spell check? Then it dawned on me. The School District doesn’t need spell check since they have taught generations of children how to spell. Yet, we get an explanation as to why there are spelling errors from time to time. As one resident said at a recent school board meeting, “I don’t want an explanation” as to why it is happening.

The School District website is available for the world to see. What an embarrassment to our community. It is a reflection of who we are. From time to time, it contains spelling errors and is in desperate need of updating. Why are we getting excuses? Why must we lower our expectations of the School District? We get out-of-date websites, lower test scores, plans that don’t meet zoning requirements, and higher taxes. And explanations.

Elaine Gillen
Mt. Lebanon

School Chief Changes Cost $650,000

While most school districts average one superintendent every six years, Mt. Lebanon has had four in that span at a cost of more than more than $650,000 to taxpayers.

"It costs some bucks, and from the taxpayers' standpoint, it's not a good thing," said Jake Haulk, president of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy and a resident of Mt. Lebanon for 28 years.

The school board voted this week to pay Nebraska head-hunting firm McPherson & Jacobson $13,500 plus expenses for a search to replace Superintendent John R. Allison. He is quitting his $156,000-a-year job at the end of June to head Wichita Public Schools in Kansas.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_616076.html

School District Hires Superintendent Search Firm

The Mt. Lebanon school board hired the superintendent search firm of McPherson and Jacobson last night to conduct the search for the district's new superintendent.

Current Superintendent John Allison, who took over the reins in Mt. Lebanon in July 2007, was appointed last week as the superintendent of the Wichita Public Schools in Wichita, Kan., near his hometown of Kansas City and near where his elderly parents live.

At last night's board meeting, Mr. Allison thanked the board and the community for the support that he received during his time as Mt. Lebanon's superintendent. He apologized for forcing the district into "the ordeal of a superintendent search" again so soon.

Link: www.postgazette.com/pg/09069/954472-100.stm

Three Area School Districts Criticized For Secrecy Of Buyouts

The South Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon and Pittsburgh school districts spent about $900,000 on buyouts of their superintendents' contracts, according to a report by Auditor General Jack Wagner.

The contracts -- among $1.3 million spent for buyouts in seven districts across the state -- demonstrate the need for greater disclosure and tighter provisions for superintendent contracts, he said.

"Secret contract buyouts have no place in the commonwealth's educational system because they fail to assure the public that school districts are protecting their interests," Wagner said in a prepared statement.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_589605.html

Personnel Payouts Put Local Lawmaker On Edge

Several large payouts to departing school employees have some public education watchdogs calling for stronger legislative oversight of local school districts. State Auditor Jack Wagner, a Democrat from Beechview who is running for re-election this year, said his office has investigated large buyouts of school superintendent contracts. Most recently, he examined the Peters Township School District, which agreed last month to pay $173,000 to its superintendent while releasing him.

Wagner is pushing to resurrect failed legislation from 2005 that forbid superintendent buyout agreements from being confidential and capped the amount they could pay. Former state Rep. Tom Stevenson, a Mt. Lebanon Republican, offered the 2005 bill after Wagner's office investigated the $490,000 buyout of former Mt. Lebanon Superintendent Margery Sable. The bill passed the House but died without a vote in the Senate Education Committee.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_562709.html

MLFE and PTA To Host "Community Conversation"

The Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education and the Mt. Lebanon Parent Teacher Association are hosting "Community Conversation on Education in Mt. Lebanon" at 7 p.m. April 16 in the municipal building, 710 Washington Road.

Featured speaker will be district Superintendent John Allison and the audience may ask questions. "This event will provide a wonderful opportunity for me to have a conversation with the community about our schools and the progress we are making to meet the goals of our strategic plan," Mr. Allison said.

Vernadean Passodelis, foundation president, said the event may be the first what the foundation hopes is a tradition of such conversation. For more, call 412.478.7743 or visit www.mlfe.org.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08094/869940-55.stm

Lebo Superintendent's New Blog

A big welcome to the blogosphere to Mt. Lebanon School District Superintendent John Allison, who launched a weblog yesterday at http://www.mtlsd.org/superintendent/blog.asp.

His first post doesn't say much except "hello," but it's great to have the Superintendent online and in public. Unfortunately, the blog doesn't permit comments.