Aug 21, 2018 By Matthew Guerry for The Almanac writer@thealmanac.Net 3 min read

The Mt. Lebanon School Board canceled plans to re-launch the district’s capital campaign by a unanimous vote during its Aug. 20 regular meeting.

The board had been weighing reconstituting the “Century of Excellence” campaign as an ongoing fundraiser dubbed “Lebo Gives,” but ultimately decided to conclude the initiative altogether.

Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer said the district will still continue to encourage that financial gifts be made to the district.

“Lebo Gives” was first announced in March and was previously said by co-chairs Noelle Conover and Bill Moorehead to be an ongoing, volunteer fundraising effort as opposed to finite campaign like the “Century of Excellence,” for which a staff member was hired. The proposed “reset” of the campaign stemmed from a financial loss it incurred in pursuit of a $6 million goal.

At the June meeting, some school board directors criticized the new initiative as lacking firm objectives and as being proposed without transparency. Some directors also took issue with the project’s proposed budget of $85,000. According to a copy of the resolution, what remains of the advance given to the campaign by the district will be transferred back to the general fund.

The board will still be able to approve the expenditure of donations made to the campaign’s account consistent with the donor’s original direction, according to the resolution. Donations made without spending recommendations will, according to the resolution, be used to support “students and student programs” as recommended by district administration subject to board approval.

Also during the meeting, the board approved:

• A satisfactory rating of the superintendent’s performance and a corresponding salary of $217,822 as of July 1.
• Contracted salaries for 10-month clerical employees and personal care assistants reflecting an average, negotiated increase of 3.35 percent over the duration of the contract effective Sept. 1; Contracted salaries for food services employees reflecting an average, negotiated increase of 2.9 percent over the duration of the contract effective Sept. 1.
• A one-year agreement with EduLink, Inc. for the Comply online program to manage professional development credentials in the amount of $11,067.
• A contract with The University School to provide special education services to the district for the 2018-19 school year at a cost of $25,000 per student for no more than two students.
• A contract with the Watson Institute for special education services to no more than five students for the 2018-19 school year at a cost not to exceed $47,146 per student.
• The awarding of a bid to Fred J. Miller, Inc. for 2018-19 band uniforms in the amount of $69,900.
• The awarding of a dairy bid to Schneider’s Dairy in the amount of $29,847, and the awarding of an ice cream bid to Hershey’s Ice Cream in the amount of $3,408.