PPS Board Nets "B-" Average Grade

The Pittsburgh Public School Board has received an overall grade of B- on the latest “report card” issued by education nonprofit A+ Schools.

The Board performed best in the areas of transparency and conduct, and worst in terms of role clarity. It received middling grades for focus and competency.

A+ Schools Executive Director Carey Harris says this means while the Board is open and doesn’t argue much, it could be using its time more wisely.

“They sometimes tend to get into questions about these transactions, like, ‘Well, who is this person? What is their qualification? How many students will participate in this? What time of day is it,’ those sorts of details, which are sort of administrative task details, not necessarily policymaking discussions,” says Harris. “Our vision is really that this is a board that’s focused on the big picture.”

Harris says her group suggests the Board take a training course for policymakers to learn new ways of governing.

A+ Schools also recommends reforming some Board meeting procedures.

Harris says this report card can’t be compared to previous ones, because A+ Schools used a new reporting method for this evaluation. Harris says the new format was made in collaboration with both volunteers and the School Board itself, and imposes a higher expectation of the Board.

Harris says the next report card will probably be issued in September. More information on the report cards can be found at A+ Schools’ website.

Non-Profits and the Budget

Four candidates for governor of Pennsylvania are split on whether or not the state should refund nonprofits who took out loans during last year’s 101-day budget impasse.
The gubernatorial hopefuls made their comments at a forum sponsored by the United Way.
When state funding to nonprofits and counties dried up last summer, many organizations took out large loans to pay their bills.
Democrats Dan Onorato and Joe Hoeffel say the state should fund those groups’ interest payments, but Auditor General Jack Wagner is more hesitant.

"Should we recoup those counties? Sure. If we could, yes. I’m not sure the state presently is in a fiscal condition to do that. Based on the serious financial challenges facing us, now, in the next budget."

Hoeffel says he’d stop all payments, if the state entered the new fiscal year without a spending plan.

"I won’t sign a temporary budget. I’ve seen this wreck the budget process in Harrisburg and in Washington. They don’t pass budgets on time in Washington. They sign—pass continuing resolutions, temporary budgets here. There have been seven straight late budgets. So no budget July 1, nobody gets paid."

Onorato criticized Governor Rendell for withholding funding from nonprofits during the 101-day budget impasse.

"And that’s what happened here. Because a lot of the other programs were funded. There was temporary budgets. There were payments being made to employees in other departments. And yet you have this department of human service bearing the political burden of this debate."

Republican Sam Rohrer says Pennsylvania government is running out of money, and may soon find itself in the same dire financial straits as California and other distressed states. Rohrer said the federal stimulus package did more harm than good.

"Because there’s two and a half billion dollars in this budget that will run out this year, that has to be made up. That’s the rub of where it goes from here. What should have done last year – spending reductions of about ten percent should have taken effect, and we’d be sitting here with a balanced budget."

All four candidates vowed to pass budgets by the July 1 deadline, if elected.
Republican Tom Corbett and Democrat Anthony Williams were both invited to the forum, but didn’t attend.

Universities and Non-Profits Against Bill That would Charge Tax-Exempt Land

A State Senate Democratic Policy Committee Meeting on tax-exempt properties occurred in The South Side today.

The hearing was held to discuss a bill sponsored by Senator Wayne Fontana that would allow municipal government to impose am "essential services fee" on tax-exempt organizations such as universities and non-profits within the municipality.

Among those that testified were Dr. Jared Cohen, President of Carnegie Mellon University. He spoke on behalf of the city's universities and of the numerous financial and cultural contributions they make to the region. He said if such a fee were imposed, the universities would have to raise tuition or cut back on research. Diana Bucco, President of The Forbes Fund, an umbrella group for the region's non-profits said the non-profits on the region provide such necessary services to the people of the region on limited budgets they might have to cut back perhaps. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl who in November tried to get a one percent tuition tax to generate $15 million a year to bolster the city's pension fund. He said he supports this bill and it could be a state-wide solution to the pension problem.

Seven state legislators were present at the hearing.

Public Hearing on Taxing Large Non-Profits

A public hearing on taxing large nonprofits is taking place tomorrow in Pittsburgh. The state Senate Democratic Policy Committee is convening the meeting and speakers will include city and county elected officials as well as non-profit administrators. Allegheny County Senator Wayne Fontana says he wants two questions answered: should non-profits be taxed? And if so, what's their fair share? He is quick to point out that he is only talking about large nonprofits that own property and use city and county services without paying. Fontana already has legislation in the state senate that taxes non-profits based on the square footage they own, but he says he's open to changing the legislation based on ideas and information that come from the hearing. He says every time there's a budget shortfall the idea of taxing non-profits comes up, and it's time to "get it over with."

The hearing will take place at the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers' Hall, at 10 S. 19th Street on the South Side, Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Mentors Give Local Families Holiday Help

Amachi is a Nigerian Ibo word meaning “who knows what God has brought us through this child.”

For some Pittsburgh families, though, it might translate to a little holiday respite from a tough economy and a parent in jail.

That’s because the mentoring group Amachi Pittsburgh has been gathering toys to donate to families with an incarcerated parent.

Parent Leeann Sasala says she was driven to volunteer for the group, because they helped her children regain their esteem after their father got a life sentence.

“When you lose a father, it’s very hurtful,” says Sasala. “They help me and I want to help them back.”

Sasala guided similar parents around a room full of toys to see which would fit their child best this year. But Executive Director Anna Hollis says while getting a toy is nice, it doesn’t replace a parent.

“It’s not just something they feel at Christmastime,” says Hollis. “It’s that overwhelming sense of loss and abandonment that kids feel when their parent has been taken away from them.”

Volunteer Sharon Humphreys says Amachi received almost 500 toys from Toys for Tots and other sponsors.

If you’re interested in the Amachi Pittsburgh program, visit their website.

Deal To Avert Tuition Tax

There is a deal with some of Pittsburgh's non-profits on making contributions to the city which will eliminate the proposed 1% college tuition tax. The details are being announced this morning at a news conference by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. DUQ's Mark Nootbaar who is at the news briefing reports the deal involves the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Highmark, which have made a "handshake" agreement to make the largest contributions to the city in their institution's histories. The mayor would not provide specific figures but said the agreements includes the largest ever individual contributions from Pitt, CMU and Highmark. The mayor expects others to follow in the new year. City Council was to take a preliminary vote this afternoon on the tuition tax which the mayor said would generate $16 million a year. Council had delayed voting on the tax three times to continue talks with the universities and other non-profits.

Fontana Wants Fee For Nonprofits

Lawmakers in Harrisburg are being asked to consider legislation that would strip away some of the tax benefits of being a nonprofit organization in Pennsylvania. The measure sponsored by State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana of Brookline and State Rep. Timothy J. Solobay of Washington would leave the first 50,000-square feet of floor space owned by a nonprofit organization tax free and then a $100 per 1,000 square foot fee would be assessed on any remaining space. The idea is to hit the large nonprofit organizations while leaving small churches and charities out of the tax. Fontana says when he first talked about the amendment to the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act there was not much support but now that Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has brought up the issue of schools paying their “fair share” through a tuition tax he thinks he will have more support. Fontana says this may not be the best plan but it is a starting point for debate. Fontana says, “It’s my opinion that they have a financial obligation to the city or municipality for the services they get and the services they receive. Many of them have accumulated vast amounts of real estate and those things are hurting our tax base.” The bill would allow nonprofits and municipalities the option to continue with existing voluntary agreements, to impose a fee based on total square footage of properties, and to establish a limited real estate tax for properties owned by institutions. Rep. Solobay says, “It isn’t just big cities affected by tax exempt real estate properties. We have similar issues in the City of Washington and Washington County which I represent as the number of tax exempt properties grows and the burden of paying for services falls on the shoulders of property owners who do pay taxes. The intent of this bill is to help combat this problem by having non-profit/tax exempt entities pay a partial tax.”

Proposal for PA Office of Faith-Based Organizations

A Montgomery County Pennsylvania State Senator has introduced legislation to establish the Pennsylvania Office of Faith-Based and Non-Profit Organizations within the office of the governor. Republican Stewart Greenleaf says his measure will create more opportunities for all volunteer organizations to partner with government entities to help deliver vital services in the communities. Greenleaf says the director of the office will be the liaison for government departments and the faith-based and community organizations "to reach out to an army of extremely motivated and very qualified volunteers and community activists to help government solve some of their social issues."
The senator says the legislation would help identify any barriers that might exist to fair competition for government funding and propose and changes that would level the playing field for faith-based and non-profit organizations, which would enable state government to "choose the most effective partner to provide public services, maximizing taxpayer dollars."
Greenleaf says the concept is obviously not new. During the Clinton Administration, the Charitable Choice provision of welfare reform encouraged states to involve faith-based and other non-profit groups in federally funded services. In 2001, President George W. Bush created the Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.
Greenleaf says any concerns about government mixing with faith-based groups have been alleviated because "it's done in an impartial way under certain guidelines the groups have to follow.

Pittsburgh Groups Ask for Week Without Violence

The Young Women’s Christian Association is asking the Pittsburgh community for its support in the 14th annual Week Without Violence. Local schools and nonprofits will hold events all week to discuss violence within various groups of people.

YWCA Vice President of Development and Communications Carmelle Nickens Phillips says the Community College of Allegheny County is hosting a particularly interesting discussion.

“They’re doing a focus group on the history of hate crimes against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the region. This presentation is … free and open to the public. It’s from 5:30 to 7:30 [Monday] at the Tom Forrester Student Center on campus,” says Phillips.

A number of other schools and nonprofits will also hold events, like Carlow University and Robert Morris University, as well as the Mayor’s Youth Council.

The week started Sunday with a moment of silence for victims of violence and will continue until Friday, when the YWCA’s Teen Leadership Institute will host a film presentation and panel discussion on “Violence and Girls.” A full list of events can be found by calling 412 255-1258 or at the YWCA website.

Nonprofits Issue Call to Action on Budget Impasse

Representatives from a number of Pittsburgh area nonprofits held a media conference today in McKees Rocks calling for an end to the budget impasse. Statewide 64% of nonprofits are relying on reserves and nearly half anticipate a cash flow crisis if a budget isn’t passed this month.

The room at Focus on Renewal headquarters was packed with nonprofit workers, some held signs highlighting their jeopardized services or demanding an end to the budget deadlock. Diana Bucco is CEO of the Forbes Funds and says in Allegheny County over 3,000 child care center staff members have lost their jobs and more than 12,000 kids are without child care services. Marc Cherna, director of the Allegheny County department of human services says all politicians are to blame. But Amy Hart of the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership was more specific, telling the crowd to get on the phone to Jay Costa and Jane Orie, two local state senators that are key players in the budget negotiations.