Chicago -- come on. New York -- are you kidding?

Then from New York:

Michael Diven and Wayne Fontana spent lots of money and paid plenty to printers and postmaster

Both Diven and Fontana ads were over the top. 

Election day was on May 17. It was a special election. Fontana won. Diven and then me.

Fwd: PAA Disaster

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John H

You are receiving this e-mail because you live in the Pittsburgh region and might have some interest in what is happening relative to the scandals at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association (PAA).  You may have heard about the financial debacle of the PAA on taxes, utility bills, etc. and the terrible treatment of 24 students living on the 4^th and 5^th floors of the building; but you almost certainly have not heard about the plight of the PPA's employees since the newspapers have shown no interest in their situation.  Attached is an op-ed which Mike Stout and I have submitted to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for publication.  We hope that they will print it, but are not at all confident since it casts a bad light on some of Pittsburgh's elite. 

The workers at the PAA are now out of a job.  We hope the people of Pittsburgh will put as much pressure as possible on the Directors, Members and management of the PAA to help ensure that the workers finally receive a fair shake.  These folks have been stiffed and badly treated by the PAA since at least 2011.  

Tomorrow Mike and I and a couple of other will be meeting to plan a fundraiser to help the workers pay for the legal fees in the ERISA suit they are filing over their missing pension funds.  As you may imagine these workers are not floating in cash.  They have been beaten down for so long that they feel hopeless and alone.  They need all the help they can get.  So anything you can do will be gratefully appreciated.  We will keep you informed of any plans for a fundraiser as they develop.

If you are not interested and want no further information on this please let me know and I will remove you from the list.

John

Link

• What about the workers, LTE

Hiring the new PPS Superintendent

Hi PPS Board Members.

I have been following this noise about the hiring of Dr. Anthony Hamlet as close as possible and have some suggestions. STICK TO YOUR prior DECISION.

Sure, a storm has come. Blame goes here and there in bits, but golly. Plug ahead.

I feel that saboteurs are trying to derail elected school boards and are trying to damage Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The board voted 9-0 to hire the guy. To change your views now would spoil the desire for others to seek the job. None would want to deal with the mess in this wake, plus deal with a fickle board, nor confront the wire-pulling and outside influence from beyond the school board.

IMHO, two of those claims are bogus fabrications. An open source approach of wikipedia on a definition of terms is desired and should not be original.

There should be some repercussions and remedies. I have made some solution suggestions. Follow my Facebook page and http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com.

Triple his probation period.

Seek a partial refund from the consultant.

Allow for a super MINORITY to terminate his contract within the probation period.

Work harder.

+ +

Final two points:

#1: I volunteer to stand with you or stand alone and talk to the media, the citizens. other politicians, union leaders or anyone else on this topic.

#2: Furthermore, Let's begin again with sports reform, something that did NOT resonate with Dr. Linda Lane, sadly. Teaching our kids how to play well with others isn't an expensive proposition, and it is a great investment if done well. I volunteer to help to re-think the issues with PPS. System-wide athletics, sports, after-school recreation, swimming, student leadership with jobs and after-school technology have pressing issues. The city can't wait to get started on the heavy lifting on those fronts.

Good luck.

Recap: Final Public Hearing for Pittsburgh Public Schools in its Hiring Quest for a New Superintendent.

Replacing the retiring Linda Lane can be an opportunity to recreate Pittsburgh recreation. We're a sports and river town and should use our swim pools.

From Mark Rauterkus, Mark@Rauterkus.com, varsity swim coach at Obama Academy and leader of the PPS Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo Camp with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation


On Thursday night, January 28, 2016, right after our home swim meet at Pittsburgh Obama against South Fayette, I dashed over to U-Prep for the public hearing concerning the search for the new PPS superintendent of schools. We lost the swim meets, but game them a good scare. One new school record was set by Obama sophomore, Sead N, leading off the 400 free relay in a 49.

I was speaker 13 and took some notes as the others before me gave the school board their thoughts. It was wild to hear what the others would say as nearly everyone else had statements that resonated with my message too. What they want, and what I want, are identical in terms of values and vision.

Pittsburgh Public Schools needs to make an overhaul to its sports and after-school programs.

Two years ago, the wake of Doctor Linda Lane's state of the district speech when she said she wanted to cut a number of sports from the budget, I released a position paper. Thankfully, those cuts never occurred. Now that there are some new board members, it is prudent to re-introduce this document again to get them aware of these situations.

http://aforathlete.wikia.com/wiki/Fewer_Sports_Alternatives

When Mark Roosevelt became superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools, a few of us shared concerns with him. Mr. Roosevelt, a former tennis player, understood the value of sports. To his credit, he was in agreement but said sports reform and athletics were not a priority – yet. He had bigger problems: principal accountability, teacher evaluations and contracts, merit pay, and of course, right-sizing. Nothing changed for years. Then, finally, Mark Roosevelt sent me an email around New Years Day and he promised me that sports reform was coming off the back burner. Wow!

A study was done on Title IX, a consultant was hired with grant money. A committee was established and meetings were held. Real issues were talked about. Mark Roosevelt came to a meeting with about 35 people, VIPs in PPS in terms of coaching, sports, security, transportation, administration, principals, and said, “I'm sorry.” Roosevelt apologized for the terrible treatment and lack of support his administration had given throughout the years to sports and athletics. He had seen the light and now understood what was happening with PPS and how many of the pitfalls could be rectified through a more robust attention to these areas. Improvements in school spirit, attendance, grades, student health, graduation rates, discipline and scholarships are evident. I was so excited to hear of the new change in direction and within the month, Mark Roosevelt resigned and took a new job at a college in Ohio.

Linda Lane was hired by the board without interviewing anyone else so as to sustain the changes Mark Roosevelt was championing in PPS. But sadly, she failed and fumbled the whole sports reform movement. She was clueless. She pulled the plug and wouldn't do anything else in this regard except cut and starve.

When Dr. Lane gave her State of the District speech at CAPA in the fall of 2013, she talked about saving $600,000 from a budget by cutting some sports and all intramural programs and upgrading computers less frequently. That's some line item: Sports and technology upgrades for $600,000 savings. That move seemed to be a surprise to everyone, even within PPS, who had worked on sports reform. I pushed back with a position paper, “Fewer sports alternatives,” and the cuts to the budget never materialized, thankfully, due in great part by board members who knew better. Two years later in the fall of 2015, the PA auditor general and city controller told the newspapers of a PPS surplus of more than $120-million. Go figure.

The first suggestion in the position paper reads: PPS Superintendent, Doctor Linda Lane, should re-establish our Athletic Reform Task Force. Suggestion #1b: This position paper can fill the early agenda for task force meetings. Suggestion #1c: The next task force should include a research component. Examine student data along with Pittsburgh Promise data.

Some other of my favorite suggestions to PPS administrators include the establishment of PPS H2O for city-wide aquatics, an All-City Sports Camp from May to September and the formation of a private-public partnership, an Olympic Sports Division, to manage the scholastic sports of Swimming, X-Country, Track-and-Field, Tennis and intramural programs. After a three month wait, I finally did have one 30-minute meeting with Dara Ware Allen, PPS Administrator in charge of all student services (including athletics). She hadn't even read the position paper. No follow up since.

Linda Lane's Administration lacks leadership in terms of sports, after-school and community building – that's my top concern with PPS.

With the superintendent search, and new board members, it is time to double down. I want to re-visit the 2014 position paper and to insure the new PPS Board Members see it. But I am releasing a new document, a new vision. We can build upon our Summer Dreamers experiences with Swim & Water Polo and turn them into Year-Round Achievers. Let's train 250 new lifeguards in the next five years. You know, PPS has 14 indoor swim pools and there was a time a few years ago when every pool was closed all summer long. We ran the numbers, we have the opportunity to train 6,000 students a year in a five-week Swim & Water Polo Camp. We can teach every kid in PPS how to swim. And, we already have these facilities. They are too often closed. And, these plans are affordable. The pools are there. The water awaits. The plans call for no extra time for custodians. Done well, I expect sensational health benefits and community school interactions.

In the final public hearing concerning input for the new superintendent search, I was the 13th speaker. Every other speaker that came to the microphone to share insights had common ground with my central message as well.

Speaker #1 said: Services and support are not in place in PPS.

Speaker #2, a young woman, remembered that the only thing she was jazzed about at Allderdice through 9th, 10th, and 11th grade was her involvement in marching band. That experience kept her going through high school.

Speaker #3 works as a professional in out-of-school time activities as a community-based provider. She wants PPS to embrace partnerships and have that as a skill-set. The new superintendent needs to have a “track record” (pun to me) and display “small wins” in after-school programming. Well, I want big wins.

Speaker #4, an 8th grade student in Higher Achievement, spoke of the need for a fresh environment. In past years I coached water polo with students in Higher Achievement. Of course, that's fresh!

Speaker #5, a 7th grade student, wants communication skills and respect in communities.

Speaker #6, Hill District Economic Council spoke of being healthy. Wishing for transforming students, leadership, innovation. Athletic do that.

Speaker #7, a Pitt Education Professor and a parent spoke about deep and sustaining partnerships. Pittsburgh has an incredibly rich network. Civic and community engagement are needed and golly, she said that PPS often seems as if it does not want input. Spot on!

Speaker #8, Sala Udin, wants to see someone articulate a strategy. That's exactly what the position paper did. That's exactly what the Sports Reform Task Force did. That's what was ignored by PPS. Sala wants a “turn around” and I do too. We'll even teach flip turns! Yes, Sala, Pittsburgh is a segregated city with a large number of poor people. That's why we are excited to do water polo in the Hill District's Ammon Swim Pool again in the summer of 2016 and champion swimming and water polo, activities that don't cost much beyond having swim suits.

Speaker #9 wants community schools and job training for parents. I've been working with the Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center, but that's not the social skills job training that is really desired. But the new document speaks of community fitness for the parents and guardians of the students we coach. I want adults to start to train when their kids are youngsters so that a few years later as the kids are in high school we can kayak together in our rivers.

Speaker #10, the President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers hit a home run and made mention of the word “athletics.” She wants none of this as an “after-thought. Rather, authentic working together is desired. Bravo.

Speaker #11, a U-Prep teacher, Chris, made mention that Pittsburgh has been a sports town with some graduates in the NFL and NBA. Who is going to stand up and take the heat, he asks? I think we teach that in athletics too.

Speaker #12, Fred Logan of Homewood, wants the PSCC (Parent School Community Councils) to return with gusto. And our sports boosters, sports leagues and sports advocate efforts should be a part of those PSCC gatherings, perhaps bringing purpose for some to show up and get more involved.

I spoke at #13.

Speaker #14 ranted about knowledge being power. Learn everything and many things. “We should do better than that so our kids can survive in the world.” Learning to swim is a survival skill.

Speaker #15, a Linden teacher and advocate with gifted referrals wants a universal screening so that all the kids who qualify as gifted get an invite to the Pittsburgh Gifted Center. Of course, all the kids should have some of the same opportunities. We could tie a universal gifted screening approach to a mission to have universal swimming lessons.

Speaker #16, Obama Academy senior, spoke of Teen Block and speaking up with student voices. The most popular messages among the kids have been about school starting too early and PPS teaching the whole person. I just released a new video about the AM Swim Practices we have at 6 am. And, I'm a big fan of holistic coaching.

Speaker #17, a U-Prep junior, a young Mr. Sanders, wants to be an entrepreneur. His personal finance class doesn't have a stable teacher and there are many faculty who seem to change often. The lunches do not seem to be nutritional and he and his classmates do not seem to be energized after eating. With athletes, great nutrition is vital. With growing kids, nutrition matters. I also expect that with more athletes, we'll diminish violence. Learning to play well with others is a central theme we should embrace often.

Speaker #18, a parent wants to develop amazing adults and wants inclusion with the disability community. Unemployment is at 70% in that sector, and teaching needs to be visual, auditory and kinetic.

Speaker #19, Ron Lawrence, 100-Black Men and an A+ Schools board member is one I want to get to meet. Closing the achievement gap is important. That achievement gap happens at the swim pool too.

Speaker #20, Education Rights Network advocate wants to end that pipeline to prison. I agree, the PPS administrative cabinet should have a commitment to include an administrator to work full time on efforts to better support those with disabilities. Another after-thought it seems.

Speaker #21, Kenneth, a long-time community activist and friend wants student government and school newspapers to be a first contact with visitors to the school. The newspapers teach ethics and are a place to get focus in a crisis. What's going on should be written about and he feels Mark Roosevelt was a terrible person, especially as he sold off the printing presses in all the schools.

Speaker #22, Tim Stevens, spoke and sang of his days in the U-Prep school, site of the meeting, as it was then called Herron Hill. He spoke at a past meeting and he highlighted the slogan above the stage, “We are all learning.” Enough said.

Speaker #23, Chris Moore, the new U-Prep principal, a former teacher at Schenley, is back in PPS and he feels the new superintendent should be one who is “called” to the job. That is a great trait. He also says that the new superintendent should have the discipline to put students first as he or she makes decisions. I got to chat for a minute after the meeting with the new principal. He'll help to get the word out to the students about the opportunities to play water polo in the neighborhood on Fridays at the Thelma Lovette YMCA.

Summer Learning -- even after 3 pm.

In Taking Summer Seriously, the Packard Foundation examines a growing trend in California to improve access to high-quality learning after 3 p.m. and in the summer.

As part of the Summer Matters campaign, schools across California are building new models of summer enrichment programs designed to engage kids in a more hands-on way. Advocates say these expanded learning options are vital for low-income children at risk of falling further behind. 

Learn about the latest research and hear from school administrators, educators, parents and the students themselves about how these new models are making a difference for California's children on the Packard Foundation's website.

RIP to Shorty Rauterkus, 87, of Iowa

I can't say I knew this gentleman in Iowa, nor his family. But, we know that their family and mine are related from a generation or two ago.

It is interesting that hs name "Jerome," was also used on my mother's side as her brother, my uncle, was Uncle Jerry. Plus, my sister is "Geri Ann." 

Jerome “Shorty” Rauterkus, 87

Published: in Harlan Iowa's newspaper. on Thursday, April 16, 2015

    Manilla -- Jerome “Shorty” Rauterkus, 87, died Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at the Manilla Manor.

    Visitation will be Thursday, April 9 from 4 - 8 p.m., Rosary at 7 p.m. and services Friday, April 10 at 11 a.m. all at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Manilla. Burial is in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Manilla.

    Rauterkus is survived by his four daughters, Deb (Chris) Martin, Seadrift, TX; Jean (Steve) Drey, Storm Lake; Renee (Dan) Brown, Petoskey, MI; Cherri (Ramon) Martinez, Kyle, TX; and three sons, Richard Rauterkus, Sam (Julie) Rauterkus and Rob Rauterkus, all from Manilla; 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

    Pauley Jones Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Peace to the Rauterki of Iowa and Texas.

Schenley SOLD

Many citizens gave great effort to save Schenley's building as an educational asset for city students. This was a noble fight. The public district used all its might and loads of misinformation to insure its eventual liquidation. 

Now, I fear, it is safe to say that the only things left to do is watch, wait, wag fingers and say, "We told you so." 

The deed to the building is almost gone from the clutches of its public trustees. 

Fingers wag at Mark Roosevelt, Patrick Dowd (former PPS board member who greased the pathway to closing the school) and all other politicians who did nothing, little or mowed down the grass-roots opposition.

Eventually the building will be filled with student housing.

Perhaps there will be a tweet or media story about the first resident to the Schenley Dorm who also uses some Pittsburgh Promise funds to pay for college. Perhaps the ownership of the building will flip from PMC. Perhaps historic tax credits will come too -- or a TIF like "development deal" tied to another project bundled with this rehab. Perhaps the union workers will get an elevator job and taxpayers get the shaft. 

Let's live to fight another day.

Sold! 

Wag on the ready.

Letter to Linda Lane, PPS Superintendent, concerning some age-old issues at Obama Swimming

Letter dated November 7, 2012 to PPS superintendent.

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Title IX -- 40 years and it now really sucks to be a boy

Title IX has its 40th birthday -- and Title IX is no friend of mine.

Let's see, I coached swimming with the men's team at Ohio University. Now my sons won't dare go to Ohio University because the men's swim team was cut some years ago. When I was there, there was swimming and diving for both men and women.

Then I coached at Baylor University. Baylor had a team then -- but it stopped. Now Baylor has no swimming for either men or women. However, Baylor is now building a new football stadium.

Then I coached at Bradley University. They had a men's swim team -- now gone. Bradley even started a womens team and now it has neither.

There is a long list of lost opportunities for men in college sports thanks to Title IX and pin headed administrators. Here is the message: Winning happens with addition. Never does one win with subtraction.

Here is a list of swim teams cut in recent times:

SwimmingEdit

The mens swim team has been cut years ago, sadly. See Title IX/Cutting_Mens_Swimming.

• University of Akron 1966
• Alabama A&M 1984
• University_of_Alaska_Anchorage 1987
• University of Alaska Fairbanks 1987
• University_at_Albany,_SUNY 1989
• American_University_of_Puerto_Rico 1966
• Arkansas 1996
• Baylor University
  • Baylor University had a Men's and Women's team in 1982-83. The program (both men and women) ended when the old 33 1/3 yard swim pool was converted to Physical Education lab space. Not a Title IX cut.
• Benedictine (Ill.) 1996
• Bowling Green State University
• Bradley University
• Brooklyn 1979
• Buena Vista 1989
• Cal Poly Pomona 1979
• Cal St. Chico 1991
• Cal St. Fullerton 1973
• Cal St. Hayward 1990
• Cal St. L.A. 1992
• Cal St. Northridge 1990
• Cal St. San Bernardino 1992
• CCNY 1984
• Central Connecticut State University
  • Central Connecticut State University Men's Swimming was 24th in 2000 NCAA Division I Championships and the team was dropped in 2002.
• Central Michigan 1971
• Central Missouri State 1980
• Central Wash. 2003
• Chicago State 1979
• Clemson University
• Colorado State 1975
• Duquesne University
• East Stroudsburg 1990
• Eastern Kentucky 1980s?
• Eisenhower 1982
• Ferris State 1992
• Fresno State 1976
• Furman 1989
• Hastings 1954
• Houston 1984
• Idaho 1965
• Idaho State 1967
• Illinois University 1990
• Illinois State 1969
• Indiana State 1968
• Iowa State 2001
• Juniata College
• Kansas 1999
• Kansas State 1965
• Kent State University
• Kutztown
• La.-Monroe 1994
• Long Beach State 1988
• Loyola (Ill.) 1965
• Manhattanville 1978
• Marshall University
• Mass.-Lowell 1983
• Metro State 2003
• Miami (Fla.) 2004
• Minnesota State - Mankato 2003
  • Mankato's men's team competed in NCAA Division II nationals up to 2010 before dropping the team,http://www.lhup.edu/sports/NCAA/WedPrelimResults.htm Reference 200 IM, Matt Chida. Its most recent highlight being Marty Wahle's runner up finish in the 200 back in 2009.
• Minnesota State - Moorhead 2004
• Missouri - St. Louis 1993
• Montana 1985
• Muskingum 1966
• Nazareth (N.Y.) 1993
• Nebraska 2000
• University of New Hampshire
• New Mexico 1999
• North Park 1970
• Northern University 1977
• Northern Colorado. 1979
• Northern Illinois 1965
• Northern Iowa 1980
• Northern Michigan 1970
• Ohio University 1988
• Oklahoma 1971
• Oklahoma State 1977
• Oregon 1975
• Regis (Colo.) 1984
• University of Rhode Island
• Rutgers
• Sacramento State 1988
• Salem International 1999
• San Diego State 1969
• San Francisco State 1998
• San Jose State 1977
• Santa Clara 1967
• Slippery Rock 1999
• Southern Oregon 1982
• Southwest Missouri State 1982
• St. John's (N.Y.)
  • St John's NY died around 2000.
• St. Joseph's (Ind.) 1968
• Syracuse 2001
• Temple 1948
• Texas State 1982
• Texas Tech 1966
• Texas-Arlington 1979
• University of Toledo
• UC Davis
  • Cut about 2009, and relays were swimming at NCAAs the year it was cut.
• UC Irvine 1997?
• UC Riverside 1984
• UCLA 1994
• University of Vermont
• Virginia. Commonwealth 1985
• University of Washington
  • In 2009, the University of Washington Women's swim team finished in 15th place at NCAAs and the men's squad finished in 16th place. Then one month later, both programs were cut.
• Washington State 1966
• Wayne State (Neb) 1946
• Western Michigan University
• Western State 1975
• Wilkes 1972
• Youngstown State University 1981