Aug 24, 2015 2 min read

Mt. Lebanon School District superintendent Timothy Steinhauer received a 6.6 percent pay raise for the 2015-2016 school year, bringing his annual salary to $186,625. As soon as his pay increase was approved, Steinhauer – who is in year two of a five-year contract – donated $5,000 of his raise to the district’s Century of Excellence capital campaign.

It’s no secret that funding is down for school districts – as well as colleges and universities – across the state. Many districts have had to sacrifice staff, programs and even athletics to make ends meet. Tax increases and budget cuts will only go so far, and the capital campaign was established in 2012 to offset the rising cost of public education. District officials have a target fundraising goal of $6 million. To date, the campaign has raised about $1.1 million in the form of pledges, gifts, goods and services.

You might remember Mt. Lebanon’s capital campaign being in the news more than a year and a half ago, when the bid for a new trophy case at the high school came in at a whopping $74,000. At the time, Steinhauer stated that the goal would be to not pay for the trophy case out of the already exceeded renovation budget, but with funds from the capital campaign.

Regardless of how Steinhauer’s $5,000 will be used, he is to be commended for giving back to the district. When he announced that he was making the donation, he stated that he wants to make sure that future students get the same great education that his children – Mt. Lebanon alumni – did.

Many others could take a page from Steinhauer’s book. It’s easy for the general public to scoff at some people’s high salaries, but when they use the funds for a greater good … well, that’s priceless.