Board president agrees to refrain from votes related to nonprofit

The president of the Mt. Lebanon school board this week agreed to refrain from voting on issues related to a nonprofit agency where she works, after a local blogger complained that it represented an ethics violation.

Local blogger and activist Elaine Gillen said she filed a complaint this week with the state Ethics Commission, accusing school board president Mary Birks of voting on contracts between the district and Outreach Teen & Family Services, where she serves as executive director.

The state Ethics Act prohibits public officials from casting votes on issues that involve personal financial gain for themselves or family members.

“Those are contracts she had no business voting on,” Ms. Gillen said about annual contracts with the nonprofit. “She’s never recused herself and that is a definite, clear-cut conflict of interest. She’s funneling more money into it than ever before.”

Ms. Gillen made her remarks after recently receiving records of board votes obtained after she filed Right-to-Know requests.

The Mt. Lebanon-based Outreach Teen & Family Services uses an assessment called TeenScreen to identify mental health and emotional issues among adolescents ages 11-18. Since 2005, the agency has provided assessments for students in Mt. Lebanon’s high school and middle schools at a rate of $17.50 per student.

During the past year, 162 Mt. Lebanon students were screened at an annual cost is about $2,500.

Ms. Birks referred comment to her lawyer, Bill Clifford, who said his client “inadvertently voted” to approve contracts with the agency because approval was lumped into a single vote with a host of other annual contracts. Mr. Clifford said Ms. Birks has voted in favor of the contracts each year since she joined the board eight years ago. The votes were unanimous.

“She won’t vote on it in the future,” he said, including later this month when the next annual contract with the agency is expected to be considered by the board. “She wasn’t aware it was in those materials.”

Ms. Birks has been the executive director of Outreach Teen & Family Services since 2014. Mr. Clifford said he didn’t know her annual salary, but IRS forms that the agency is required to submit indicate that Ms. Birks earned $31,946 in 2014, the latest year that figures were available.

Contracts with the district provide 22.4 percent of the agency’s funding.

Other funding sources include Allegheny County, Mt. Lebanon municipality, foundations and grants.

Rob Caruso, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said he couldn’t verify whether Ms. Gillen had filed a complaint and said that if the commission found the accusations to be credible, it would investigate.

“Our investigative division has 60 days to make a prima facie case,” he said. “If that case is made, the subject receives a target letter.”

That process triggers a 180-day period of more intense investigation, which can result in fines, penalties or a consent agreement.

Of the approximately 450 complaints he receives each year, most involve accusations of conflicts of interest by public officials voting on contracts, Mr. Caruso

said.

A copy of the ethics complaint sent to the Post-Gazette by Ms. Gillen was not notarized or signed, as required, but Ms. Gillen said she had filed the proper forms.

Ms. Birks is running for re-election in the May 16 primary on an slate that includes school board member Daniel Remely, former board member Elaine Cappucci and candidate Katie Caste. They are opposed by school board members Stephen Strotmeyer and Mike Riemer, who have teamed with candidate Aviva Diamond.

Candidate Justin DePlato is also running in the race as a Republican for a four-year seat.

All of the other candidates cross-filed as Democrats and Republicans, and each is running for five open slots — four seats with four-year terms and one seat with a two-year term.

In her blog, https://lebocitizens.blogspot.com, Ms. Gillen said she is supporting the slate of Mr. Strotmeyer, who was appointed last summer to fill Ms. Cappucci’s unexpired term, Mr. Riemer and Ms. Diamond.

When asked whether she hoped to influence the outcome of the election with her recent revelations, Ms. Gillen said she believed jockeying among candidates probably triggered some of the anonymous tips she has been receiving about board members.

“I just think it shouldn’t continue,” she said. “I would’ve done this whether there was an election or not. All this evidence has been coming out — so maybe the election reminded people about candidates.”

Ms. Gillen is frequently critical of taxpayer spending and unsuccessfully ran for a town commission seat several years ago.

She sees her role as that of watchdog.

“I’m waiting for them to take up a collection to move me to Upper St. Clair,” she joked.