Food, friends and fun. Watch a video from the spaghetti dinner by clicking on the link below.
Posts Tagged ‘save na schools’
Video from the Spaghetti Dinner
Posted: February 27, 2013 in Community Information, VideosTags: save na schools, saveNAschools, spaghetti dinner, video
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Pictures from Spaghetti Dinner & Reminder about Wednesday Board Meeting
Posted: February 26, 2013 in Community Information, Take ActionTags: save na schools, saveNAschools, School Board Meeting, spaghetti dinner, yard signs
A huge thank you to the NA community for selling out the spaghetti dinner! The proceeds will go towards printing/postage costs from the Peebles Fire Hall meeting, printing costs for the neighborhood flyers distributed prior to the public hearing, and yard signs to be ordered next month.
The next school board meeting is Wednesday, February 27th at 7pm in the Carson Middle School auditorium. If you are interested in speaking, please contact Rose Mary Ryan at rryan@northallegheny.org or 412-369-5437.
Spaghetti Dinner is Sold Out
Posted: February 24, 2013 in Community Information, Take ActionTags: save na schools, saveNAschools, spaghetti dinner, yard signs
The SaveNASchools Spaghetti Dinner is sold out! We have stopped online sales because we cannot accept more than 300 reservations. We would like to thank the community for its overwhelming response to this event!
If you are interested in ordering yard signs, but were unable to purchase a ticket to the dinner, please email savenaschools@gmail.com. Thank you!
Momentum is Growing; Board Members are Listening
Posted: February 15, 2013 in Community Information, Take ActionTags: Franklin Park Fire Hall, fundraiser, North Allegheny, North Allegheny School Board, Park Cafe, public record, save na schools, save our schools, saveNAschools, spaghetti dinner
The community had 15 days following the January 30th public hearing to submit information into the public record (the deadline was midnight on February 14th). In the last two weeks, over 400 letters were sent to the North Allegheny School Board opposing the closure of Peebles Elementary. All 400+ letters will become part of the final record.
We want to thank each and every member of the community who has taken the time to advocate on behalf of the 3,500+ elementary students in the district as part of this movement. Our message is being heard by board members.
Please join us for the Save NA Schools Spaghetti Dinner on Monday, February 25th from 6-8pm at the Franklin Park Volunteer Fire Hall. This event will be an opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy a fun-filled evening of food and games, while discussing the final strategy leading up to the vote. Catered by Park Cafe and Catering, the meal will include spaghetti with your choice of sauce (meat sauce or marinara), Breadworks bread, tossed salad, and homemade cookies for dessert. A Chinese auction will be available thanks to the participation of several local businesses. Join the fun, order yard signs, ask questions, and become part of the effort. Dinner tickets are $5 for kids under 10 and $10 for everyone else. We request that you purchase dinner tickets in advance.
You can order dinner tickets on-line by clicking here or by clicking on the flyer below. We look forward to seeing you on February 25th!
Today’s Post Gazette & Tribune Review Press Coverage
Posted: February 7, 2013 in Community Information, Press CoverageTags: agenda, Architectural Innovation, architectural innovations, Bradford Woods, class size, elementary program, enrollment, Gualtieri, James Construction Co., Jon Thomas, Maureen Grosheider, North Allegheny School District, Peebles, Raymond Gualtieri, Rep. Mike Turzai, save na schools, saveNAschools, Stephen Miskin, Thomas & Williamson
Peebles backers speak to North Allegheny school board
By Sandy Trozzo
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Members of the Save NA Schools group are confident they got their message — don’t close Peebles Elementary School — across to the North Allegheny school board during a seven-hour public hearing that didn’t adjourn until 2:20 a.m. last Thursday. But superintendent Raymond Gualtieri’s statement following testimony suggested the group still may face an uphill battle.
Board members will vote in May on an administration proposal to close the school, which is in McCandless.
“We feel the hearing could not have gone any better. We had over 100 speakers advocating on behalf of keeping Peebles elementary open, and not one speaker came forward advocating for the closing of the building,” said Tara Fisher, one of the leaders of the citizens’ group, Save NA Schools. “I think we’ve given them a lot to think about. We made a lot of educated, well-thought-out arguments.”
Speakers during the Jan. 30 public hearing were from all seven elementary schools, although most represented Peebles and Hosack.
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Study of North Allegheny’s Peebles Elementary scrutinized
Several parents hold up graphs showing an increase in enrollment in the North Allegheny School District during a public hearing about the possibility of closing Peebles Elementary School at Carson Middles School on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013. Heidi Murrin | Tribune-Review
North Allegheny School District residents opposed to closing Peebles Elementary School are questioning why an engineer conducted a recent study of the school for free.
Alan Lilienthal, a Peebles parent, wondered whether it is appropriate for the district to have accepted a free study.
“I also wonder why anyone would work for free, unless there was something to gain down the road,” said Lilienthal, of McCandless.
But Jon Thomas, of Thomas & Williamson Program Management of Ross, said the district asked him to do a demographic and feasibility study.
“They came to me and said, ‘Can you help out?’ I said, ‘I’d be honored to help out,’ ” said Thomas.
Video from School Board Meeting: Pagone and Jacobs Continue to Challenge Process
Posted: January 25, 2013 in Community Information, Take ActionTags: Bishop, blackburn, Greenberg, Grosheider, Hubert, jacobs, Ludwig, North Allegheny, North Allegheny School District, pagone, Peebles, public hearing, save na schools, saveNAschools, school board, schwartzmeier, volunteer, www.savenaschools.com
At this week’s school board meeting, Mr. Pagone and Mr. Jacobs continued to challenge colleagues over the proposed plan to close Peebles. Mr. Pagone made a motion to indefinitely postpone the public hearing and it was seconded by Mr. Jacobs. The only challenge to the motion was from Ms. Ludwig, which prompted a heated exchange. You can watch a video of the exchange by linking to the article on the NA Patch website.
The administration has proposed closing Peebles Elementary, but the school board is still undecided on the issue. It is the 9 school board members who have the power to close a building. The administration does NOT have power to do anything other than make the recommendation.
SaveNASchools encourages all North Allegheny residents to get involved in the effort to SAVE ALL SEVEN elementary schools in the district.
Top Ten Ways To Get Involved
- Attend the January 30th Public Hearing at 7pm in the Carson Middle School Auditorium
- Register to speak by emailing school board secretary, Rose Mary Ryan rryan@northallegheny.org
- Sign up as at www.savenaschools.com to receive information and updates
- Forward the emails from SaveNASchools to friends and neighbors
- Like our Facebook page
- Write a letter to the editor at the Post Gazette or Tribune Review
- Contact school board members by mail or by phone
- Invite friends and neighbors to attend the Jan. 30th hearing with you
- Volunteer to distribute flyers about the Public Hearing in your neighborhood (email us!)
- Email savenaschools@gmail.com with other ideas.
School board members Ralph Pagone and Chris Jacobs voted “no” to scheduling a public hearing for the closure of Peebles. Thus, they already agree that proceeding with closing Peebles, given the current facts, is not in the best interest of the district.
The following three school board members are open-minded, friendly, and still undecided on the issue. If you want to write a letter or make a phone call to a school board member, we recommend focusing your efforts on these three members. As a taxpayer and citizen, it is your democratic right to lobby elected officials. The contact information for all school board members is made public on the district’s website. It has been provided here for your convenience.
- Libby Blackburn 1015 Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 412-364-0314
- Joseph Greenberg, Ph.D. 1000 Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 412-635-9520
- Thomas C. Schwartzmier 2538 Cole Road, Wexford, PA 15090 724-935-4964
Additional members of the school board include:
- Maureen M. Grosheider, President 103 Quail Hollow Lane, Wexford, PA 15090 724-935-2134
- Daniel E. Hubert, Vice President 200 Wally Nue Court, Wexford, PA 15090 724-935-1355
- Linda Bishop 1180 Woodland Road, Baden, PA 15005 724-772-2371
- Beth A. Ludwig 231 Edelweiss Drive, Wexford, PA 15090 724-933-0234
- *Christopher M. Jacobs 3966 N. Monet Court, Allison Park, PA 15101 412-487-1479
- *Ralph J. Pagone 8761 Casa Grande Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 412-635-7155 (work)
Save NA Schools: Our Position
Posted: January 11, 2013 in The ImpactTags: advisory committee, bad faith, best practices, best practices for closing a school, Bradford Woods, California Department of Education, class size, closing a school, Council of Educational Facility Planners, due diligence, Franklin, Hosack, Ingomar, lawsuit, Marshall, National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, North Allegheny, North Allegheny School District, Peebles, petitions, process, save na schools, saveNAschools, task force, taxpayers
SaveNASchools firmly believes that NO SCHOOL in the district should be closed and its mission is to illustrate
(1) the district’s position is incorrect, and
(2) the district’s process is incorrect.
1. SaveNASchools believes the district DOES NOT have the ability to close a school without compromising its successful elementary education model. If Peebles is closed, the detrimental impact to the remaining buildings will include;
* an increase in class size (e.g. Ingomar would‘ve seen an increase of 7 students per class in 4th grade and 4 students per class in 5th grade)
* an increase in sections (e.g. Ingomar, Franklin, Hosack, and Bradford Woods would operate as four-round instead of three-round schools)
* use of non-classrooms as classrooms (e.g. large group instruction spaces at both Ingomar and Marshall would be used as spare classrooms; the space at Marshall requires accordion walls and the space at Ingomar has no windows)
2. SaveNASchools believes the district’s process for closing a school DOES NOT adhere to a best practices model. The California Department of Education, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International encourages the following best practices for considering a school closure;
* form a district advisory committee before decisions are made about a school closure that includes a cross section of community members (the school board has not addressed a petition with 1,000+ signatures requesting a community task force)
* evaluate the condition, operating costs, transportation costs, and value of each building, which includes getting appraisals (the district has not performed a cost analysis per building nor has it gotten appraisals)
* ensure the process of gathering facts is as credible, transparent, and non-political as possible (the district has two reports-the first report recommends closing a school with $14 million in repairs and the second report recommends closing a school with $0 in repairs; the second report is from a consultant that was involved in a lawsuit with the district where a judge ruled he acted in “bad faith” and cost NA taxpayers over half a million dollars)
The district’s failure to adhere to a best practices model for closing a school DOES NOT mean that a school other than Peebles should be closed. It merely highlights the district’s failure to involve taxpayers, lack of due diligence and inconsistencies regarding the process for closing a school.
Trib: Group battles Peebles Elementary closing
Posted: January 10, 2013 in Community Information, Costs, Feasibility Studies, Lawsuit, Press CoverageTags: Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, architectural innovations, Bradford Woods Elementary, James Construction, Jon Thomas, Judge Timothy P. O‘Reilly, Maureen Grosheider, mccandless, North Allegheny, North Allegheny School Board, Peebles Elementary School, public hearing, Ralph Pagone, Raymond Gualtieri, save na schools, superintendent, Thomas & Willamson
Group battles Peebles Elementary closing
By Rick Wills Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
With the North Allegheny School Board poised to take public comment on whether to close Peebles Elementary School, opponents are galvanizing to prevent it. A group of parents and taxpayers calling themselves “Save NA Schools” are flooding the district‘s website, sending emails to the media, residents and school board members, and turning up at board meetings to protest any attempt to close Peebles.
They say a consultant‘s report recommending the closure ignores the fact that Bradford Woods Elementary needs $14 million of repairs, while Peebles does not.
Many group members are opposed to closing any schools.
“At the end of the day, what the board says does just not add up. Their actions with the school closings make no sense,” said Daneen Leya of McCandless, a mother of students in the district and a member of Save NA Schools.
Raymond Gualtieri, North Allegheny‘s superintendent, recommended closing Peebles to save $850,000. The district faces a $10 million deficit for the 2013-14 school year, he warned in November.
Yet a consultant‘s report says it would be more economical to close Bradford Woods. School board president Maureen Grosheider questions estimates in the report of the cost to repair Bradford Woods. The study is one of two commissioned by district. The second recommends closing Peebles.
“After the first study, the numbers for renovations just seemed excessive. The question became, ‘Are those numbers really real?‘ ” Grosheider said.
The board will hold the public hearing on Peebles on Jan. 30. A time and location have not been set. A board vote could come within 90 days of the hearing.
Ralph Pagone, one of two board members who voted last month against having a hearing, said the district is rushing the process.
“We are moving too fast. There are conflicting studies. The board did not like the first study and got a study that told them what they wanted to hear. They do not seem to be paying much attention to the public,” Pagone said.
The initial report from Architectural Innovation of Ross recommended closing Bradford Woods and keeping Peebles open. The board‘s majority favors a study by Jon Thomas of Thomas & Williamson construction consulting firm, also of Ross, which recommends closing Peebles.
James Construction Co. sued Thomas & Williamson and the school district over renovation work at North Allegheny in the late 1990s. James won damages of $524,087 from the district in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
“The fact that the district had a recommendation from 12 experts to close a school with $14 million in repairs and commissioned a ‘second opinion‘ from Jon Thomas is very suspect. Especially when you consider Mr. Thomas recommended closing a school with no repair costs and Judge (Timothy P.) O‘Reilly concluded he acted in ‘bad faith‘ the last time he served as a consultant for North Allegheny. This all begs the question: What was the real motivation in hiring Mr. Thomas?” said Tara Fisher, a parent of a Peebles student.
Jon Thomas could not be reached on Wednesday.
Pagone questioned the decision as well. “I am concerned with the outcome of that lawsuit. The findings were not good.”
Grosheider said Thomas has a record of success with the district.
“Mr. Thomas has done work for the district for many years, in many capacities. We have always had good results.”
NA Patch: North Allegheny Board Member Challenges Colleagues on Proposed School Closing
Posted: January 7, 2013 in Press CoverageTags: Beth Ludwig, Bradford Woods, Christopher M. Jacobs, community task force, deficit., Gualtieri, Hosack, jacobs, Jon Thomas, lawsut, Ludwig, North Allegheny School Board, North Allegheny School District, pagone, Peebles Elementary, Ralph J. Pagone, Raymond Gualtieri, save na schools, saveNAschools, Thomas & Williamson
Ralph J. Pagone says opponents of the proposed closing of Peebles Elementary are “not getting their voices fairly heard.”
- By Richard Cook, North Allegheny Patch
- Email the author
When the North Allegheny School Board on Dec. 19 scheduled a public hearing on Superintendent Raymond Gualtieri’s proposal to close Peebles Elementary School, board members Ralph J. Pagone and Christopher M. Jacobs voted “no.”
Scheduling such a hearing is the first step a school board is legally required to take before it can consider closing a school.
At the school board meeting Nov. 28, Gualtieri told the board that closing Peebles would save $850,000 annually for the district, which is facing a $5.7 million deficit. He also argued that the district’s enrollment continues to decline and that its elementary schools are not full and have room for Peebles students.
The community group Save NA Schools has been leading the opposition to closing Peebles, and Pagone has been listening.
The group repeatedly has asked the board to form a community task force which would provide additional ideas for addressing the district’s projected budget deficits prior to a decision on closing an elementary school. It’s not clear what, if any, power the task force would hold and who would be part of it. The board has not addressed that request.
“Why not take a step back and enlist the help of these taxpayers?” Pagone said. “They are intelligent people who have made compelling arguments. We are the stewards of their tax dollars, after all.”
After the board meeting Dec. 19, board member Beth Ludwig indicated she would vote against the formation of a community task force even though she was originally open to the idea.
“I would not want to subject any non-elected community members to the tone and intensity of the current debate,” she said. “Also, at this point, I would not know what the board would have a task force do.”
Pagone said he has a different opinion.
“ Save NA Schools is made up of well-educated people, and they are not getting their voice fairly heard,” he said.
He said he also questions the wisdom of ignoring the recommendation of one consultant who recommended closing Bradford Woods Elementary because of the need for extensive repairs. Instead, the board favors the findings of a second study by Jon Thomas of the Thomas & Williamson construction program management firm, which suggests the opposite.
Thomas & Williamson is the same firm which, along with the school district, was the target of a lawsuit by James Construction Co. over renovations at Hosack Elementary in the late 1990s. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Timothy Patrick O’Reilly ruled against the district and awarded damages of $524,087.
“We had 12 experts who told us what some board members didn’t want to hear,” Pagone said. “So what did we do? We tossed out that study and got a second opinion from a firm which we had questionable dealings with in the past as a result of a prior construction project.”
Pagone said he agrees with members of the Save NA Schools group that enrollment in the district will rise.
“Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania are experiencing an increase in population for the first time in decades, and people will want buy either new or existing homes in the North Allegheny School District,” he said.
Pagone said he does believe the board should take action to alleviate overcrowded classrooms, particularly at Hosack Elementary, by redistricting elementary students.
And if a majority of the board ultimately decides to close one of the district’s seven elementary schools, Pagone said he believes the wrong school has been targeted.
“If you want to close a building, why not close Bradford Woods Elementary, which the initial report tells us needs $14 million in renovations?” he said. “We don’t have that kind of money, and Peebles doesn’t need any renovations.”
To read more on the administration’s arguments for closing Peebles Elementary, click here.
To read the counter-arguments from Save NA schools, click here.
Lining the lawsuit up against the facts
Posted: December 20, 2012 in LawsuitTags: appeal, architectural innovations, board, Bradford Woods, Briem, Jon Thomas, lawsuit, mccandless, Peebles, Phase 1 Demographics and Feasibility Study, Phase 2 Feasibility Study, save na schools, saveNAschools, Thomas & Williamson
At the school board meeting last night, information came forward that the consultant who recommended closing Peebles Elementary was responsible for renovating several of the district’s elementary schools in the late 90’s and his work resulted in a lawsuit that cost the district half a million dollars. Below are the facts and information surrounding this situation:
- Mr. Jon Thomas did work on the district’s elementary schools in the late-90’s and that work resulted in 2007 lawsuit against the district. Judge O’Reilly concluded there were numerous issues with Mr. Thomas’s work and the lawsuit cost the district half a million dollars (even following appeal). Lawsuit- Full Text and North Allegheny Appeal- Full Text
- On August 17, 2011, a Phase I Demographics and Feasibility Study was issued by an independent consulting firm, Architectural Innovations. A dozen experts contributed to the report. The report listed $14 million in estimated repairs at Bradford Woods and included a recommendation to retire the building to save the district $14 million in future repair costs. Physical Conditions Analysis – Estimated Costs
- In December 2011, a Phase 2 Demographics and Feasibility Study was commissioned by the district. It hired construction management firm, Thomas and Williamson, to do the work. The December 5, 2012 Tiger News stated, “The Board was not comfortable with the demographic information or cost estimates” in the Phase 1 report so the Board “commissioned a second report to be done by a consulting firm with whom they were familiar from past projects.”
- On August 22, 2012, Mr. Jon Thomas issued his Phase 2 Demographics and Feasibility Study. Estimated repairs at Bradford Woods were reduced from $14 million to $8 million. There were no estimated repairs listed for Peebles. Mr. Thomas recommended closing Peebles and concluded the population in McCandless would decline. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Briem were the only experts listed in the report. BWE Project Budget Summary.
- In September 2012, a parent noted two issues in the Phase 2 report: (1) that the 2010 data used for population projections does not tie to the 2010 U.S. Census and, (2) that there is a mathematical error in the demographic section of the report which, when corrected, establishes that the population in McCandless will remain stable and not decline. Mr. Thomas acknowledged the mathematical error and that such conclusion be corrected, but could not provide an explanation for why the report understates the 2010 McCandless population by using data that doesn’t tie to the 2010 U.S. Census. [Phase 2 Population projections] [SPC Municipal Profile 2010]
SaveNASchools believes that the district should NOT be relying on ANY advice from a consultant whose work caused the district legal issues in the past. Reliance on Mr. Thomas’s demographic information, enrollment projections, and other assumptions is NOT in the best interest of the district.
SaveNASchools believes that the district does NOT have the ability to close ANY elementary school without compromising its successful elementary education model. Our recent posts illustrate that the remaining buildings will see an increase in class size, an increase in sections, and the need to operate non-classrooms as classrooms (displacing programs integral to the elementary curriculum).
save NA schools 