Missoula School District Infiltrated with Missoula International School Supporters

The question of whether Missoula County Public School's Board of Trustees has been infiltrated by Missoula International School supporters needs to be asked and most importantly needs to be answered to the best of our ability.

After observing the MCPS Board by attending hundreds of various MCPS meetings over a period of many years, it is of the opinion of psm (Prescott School Missoula) that there are MIS supporters on the Board and in another MCPS related foundation.

First, let's take a look at who is serving on the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees -

Toni Rehbein - We have known since 2004 that current Chairwoman of the MCPS Board, Toni Rehbein, was president for two years  [Edit of July 14, 2013 - psm forgot to mention the fact that Rehbein also served as Vice President of MIS for a year] of the Board of Missoula International School shortly before her election to the MCPS Board. Rehbein, however, did not reveal her past ties to MIS until after she had supported rushing the lease agreement in May of 2004. At one meeting Rehbein went as far as asking if MIS would be interested in leasing Prescott with an option to buy. She has also advocated for an appraisal of Prescott School - without a facilities plan in place. In other words, Prescott School, like Roosevelt School in the past, has been singled out of all MCPS facilities for no other reason than a private school is interested in leasing and/or buying it.

Rehbein's waving and winks to her MIS friends in the audience of MCPS meetings when the Prescott School/MIS leased is discussed is also quite telling - perhaps they had discussions before the meetings?

Adam Duerk - Trustee Duerk has stated that his twins attended the Missoula International School pre-school (or kindergarten) in the past.  Duerk had abstained, for this reason, from a lease vote.  In a later lease discussion, however, he supported the extension of the lease of Prescott School to the Missoula International School. After a citizen asked Duerk what pre-school his twins attended before a meeting, Duerk, decided to abstain again from voting on the Prescott School/Missoula International School lease. Before the vote Duerk pulled the district's attorney, Bea Kaleva, aside and went out into the hall for what appeared to be requesting advise on voting for the lease. As mentioned above, he decided to abstain from the vote.

 Joseph Knapp - Trustee Knapp is a cardiologist who has ties to St. Patrick's Hospital. In MCPS meetings concerning the lease there have been many doctors and/or relatives of doctors representing Missoula International School whom also have ties to St. Patrick's Hospital.  Prescott School Missoula is pointing this out because  it appears that there may be a link between Trustee Knapp and a few MIS parents and the MIS leadership.  Perhaps it is a coincidence, however, perhaps it is not. Trustee Knapp has voted for the Prescott School/MIS lease twice since being elected to the MCPS Board.

 Marta Pierpoint - Although Marta Pierpoint is not on the MCPS Board, she has served on at least two MCPS committees. Marta Pierpoint is a past Missoula International School officer (and most likely still has ties to MIS). She has come before the Board many times over the years on behalf of MIS when there has been MIS/Prescott School business.  Pierpoint was a member of the MCPS Community Conversation Committee - a group of approximately 30-32 (or more) people who were studying ways to improve Missoula County Public Schools.  Pierpoint also served on a MCPS committee which was tasked to write out a mission statement for the district, a statement which psm believes is currently still in use. Another minority Board member expressed desire to be placed on this committee, however, was not selected.

Most recently, Pierpoint was placed in the position of president of Missoula Education Foundation.  Although MEF is not a MCPS Committee, it has definite ties to MCPS.  The foundation works with MCPS on various projects and plans within the school district.  The former MCPS Superintendent, Jim Clark serves as an officer of MEF and the current MCPS Superintendent Apostle also serves at some capacity on the MEF Board.  In addition, MCPS has hired a part-time liaison with the MEF. Since there are such strong ties between these two entities, it is a concern that a former president of MIS is President of the MEF Board.

Additionally, former Superintendent Clark and another MEF member/officer Rosemary Harrison, a former MCPS Trustee and Board Chairwoman have been hostile towards Prescott School in the past. Clark advocated for it's closure in 2003 and 2004 and the lease to MIS. Harrison voted to close Prescott (many times) and also voted for the Prescott/MIS lease in 2004. 

Update on August 14, 2013

Prescott School Missoula has yet another name to add to the list of MCPS Trustees and other Missoula International School supporters which have, in psm's opinion, infiltrated the MCPS Board of Trustees.

The name is  -

Michael Smith

In the summer of 2013, Prescott School Missoula posted that Michael Smith's wife works for the Missoula business - ALPS.  The reason this is significant is former Board Chairwoman Toni Rehbein's husband, David Rehbein, was an employee of ALPS for many years.  We know, from Toni Rehbein herself and from state documents that Toni was a past president for two years and a vice president for one year of Missoula International School - the lessee of Prescott School since 2004, thus tie-in for Michael Smith. We know  that Michael Smith voted for the 5-year lease extension  for Missoula International School of Prescott School in 2011.  Smith may have voted for the 3 year lease extension in 2009, also. psm will check to see when he was elected to the MCPS Board.

Additionally, if one goes to the elections office for the county one can obtain the nominating petitions for all the candidates. running for the MCPS Board of Trustees. The nominating petition is required by law for all people running for election to a School Board. 

The nominating petition documents will list the names of the people who supported the candidates for election to the MCPS Board of Trustees.  Michael Smith's nominating petition was signed by David Rehbein and also a Mr. Minto, another employee of ALPS.

Jacqueline Florence ‘Jill’ Bethke

Jacqueline Florence ‘Jill’ Bethke

The above link is for the obituary of Jill Bethke.

Jill Bethke's obituary in the July 24, 2012 Missoulian reads, "She later went back to work at Prescott School as a teachers aid and then became a part-time secretary at Messiah Lutheran Church and was also one of the church organists for many years."

Prescott School Missoula gives our condolences to the family and friends of Jill. 

Prescott School Missoula is quite sure that many children and  their families enjoyed Jill's employment at Prescott School.

Pain Regarding Our Beloved Prescott School - A Note from the Heart

This post is different from most of the posts by Prescott
School Missoula. 

In the eight years since the closure of three schools in 2004 and the leasing of Prescott School to Missoula International School there have been so many decisions by Missoula County Public Schools Trustees that have not been in the best interests of Prescott School.

At times it seems to be almost tortuous to witness the tragic misuse of Prescott School by MCPand MIS.

The latest painful experience occurred yesterday when psm realized that the school district approved remodeling of Prescott School by Missoula International School and the playground.

Only ONE person in the district approved these changes. THERE WAS NO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. THERE WAS NO MCPS TRUSTEE DISCUSSION. THERE WAS NO OTHER  MCPS ADMINISTRATION INVOLVEMENT. 

SCOTT REED, THE DIRECTOR OF MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS GAVE MIS PERMISSION THE GO AHEAD WITH THEIR PLANS TO MAKE RADICAL CHANGES TO OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL!

The pain continues as I watch my favorite school being used to give as a gift by disloyal MCPS Trustees to their friends in Missoula International School.  Every decision favoring MIS is like a stab in the back.  Decisions are usually made behind the back's of the public and are never in the best interest's of the public school children. The remodeling decisions are only to benefit Missoula International School.

IT IS PAINFUL TO SEE PRESCOTT SO ABUSED BY MCPS TRUSTEES!

A lease of a public school is not supposed to be a permanent arrangement. A lease is normally put in place so that the school earns money from a tenant temporarily using the building UNTIL the school district needs it again. 

Therefore, changes need to be very minor to none at all so that MCPS students can easily attend a leased school the following school year. 

Prescott School could be used by students in other areas of Missoula. As an example of this type of flexibility within the district in the past is when 4th graders from Lewis and Clark were bused in the '60's to Lincoln School. Lincoln School had been leased to the Forest Service the year prior to it's use by the school district. (Prescott School Missoula found this information in a history booklet of Rattlesnake Schools published by the Rattlesnake PTA in the 1980's and hopes to share with readers as soon as time permits). 

The above example of how a lease of a public school is supposed to work - always in the best interests of the district. This was a beneficial arrangement for the entire district and it's students; this writer knows the joy the Lewis and Clark students experienced at Lincoln School as she was one of these students. 

Leases of MCPS schools need to be on a short term basis, for instance only a year or at the most two years so that MCPS can step into the space when it is needed as discussed in the previous paragraph.

MCPS has not understood the purpose of a lease for many of its properties.  This could be a whole separate blog post in the future!

Thank you for bearing with psm as I share my emotions with the readers on this blog post.

Such blatant disrespect by MCPS Board members toward Prescott School and other schools as well is so depressing and gut wrenching at times - psm is grateful for this blog as an outlet to express feelings.

New Child Start Inc. director wants Missoula children's mural art covered up

Citizens want mural at Whittier School to remain
Click the link above to read about the mural at Whittier School.

Prescott School Missoula is featuring this article as it illustrates the value which Missoulians place on their public schools, many which have housed our citizens for generations, such as Prescott and Whittier. As one will read, citizens were not happy with the lessee's plan to change the interior mural artwork which was created by students in the '70's.

In November of 2011, Scott Reed,the district's maintenance and operations Director, gave permission to  Missoula International School to make several renovations to Prescott School and the playground without any Board or public participaton. So one administrator has all the control regarding such issues? This is not the manner in which a public entity is supposed to do business. Something is not right at MCPS.

The attachment to keeping traditions which are inherent to a school building, in this case Whittier School,  can also be transferred to Prescott School. Both Prescott and Whittier are leased to other entities.  Just as citizens were upset with the thought of losing the mural, so to are citizens when the interior of the Prescott building is being re-constructed to suit the needs of the private school leasing it, Missoula International School.

Did the Head Start director have permission from Scott Reed to paint over the mural?  Did Scott Reed know about the plan to "whitewash" the mural?  psm wonders if School Reed had a role to play in this isue.

Something needs to be done about the transparency with which changes are taking place within our schools - the public has a right to know and participate in discussions about any proposed changes  to our school buildings, whether the schools are leased or not, before decisions are made final.

Some quotes from the above article follow: 

"The wizard of Whittier is getting whitewashed."
and -

"For more than 30 years, the giant purple magic-maker has stood sentry over the basketball court at the old Whittier School on Missoula's North Side."
and -

"The wizard, along with a few American Indians, a trapeze artist, a centaur with a devil's face, a human-saddled dinosaur and a giant snake were painted by the students at the school when it was filled with Missoula County Public Schools students in the late 1970s."
and -

"On Monday, those creatures and humans are getting a makeover.
Actually, it's a paint-over, and more than a few people are taking great exception to the decision by the director of the Head Start program - run as Child Start Inc. - to erase the second-floor murals, which run along the length of each side of the court."
and -

"The school's nighttime custodian even refused to do the job himself."
and -

"It's not like it's 100 years old or anything, but I don't think we should just cover up something semi-historic," said Spencer Bryant, who likes the murals."
and -

"There are numerous things on the mural that are inappropriate for 3- and 4-year-olds," said Skelton, who was hired to run the Head Start program last summer. Skelton left a similar position in Racine, Wis."
and -

"Wow, that is sad," said Jen Harrington, a Whittier student in the 1970s who worked on the project with her classmates more than 30 years ago. "That's a sad thing to hear."
and -

"It was around 1978 or 1979 - Harrington can't quite remember - that she and her Whittier classmates began painting the mural, a project involving the entire school back in the day when it was filled with first- through eighth-graders."
and -

"I still enjoy it," said Harrington, who now lives in Clinton. "It brings back memories."
and -

"Harrington said many of her classmates who still live in Missoula - including some on the North Side - will be irked when they find out about Skelton's plan."
and -

"The Head Start program has been run out of the building for 20 years. The building is still owned by the MCPS district, but leased.
Bryant will continue to clean the school, even though he considers the paint-over an injustice."
and -

"We just seem to live in a culture that likes to get rid of something old to replace it with something new," he said."

Rattlesnake Historic District and Prescott School

Prescott School is described in Missoula's Historic District Information

Click on the link above to read information on the lower Rattlesnake Historic District which includes information on Prescott School.

Prescott School, the current building built in 1950, is one of Missoula's oldest schools, if not the oldest.  Another school, the old Roosevelt School, now the administration building on 6th Street is also quite old, however, psm still believes Prescott School is older.
More research needs to be done on this topic. 

Later:  It appears that Whittier School is older than Prescott.  psm believes the Whittier School of today is the second Whittier.  psm is of the understanding that Whittier, the old Paxson, and Willard are the same design, thus triplets. Another set of  triplets is Prescott, Washington, and Jefferson.

One fact is clear - Prescott School is an important part of our Missoula heritage and needs to continue in it's traditional use as a public school.

"Prescott School is Heaven"

At a meeting at Rattlesnake School last year when the subject was Prescott School, a woman whose children had attended Prescott said -  

"Prescott School is heaven".

Prescott School Missoula couldn't agree more!

One of Missoula's BIGGEST scandals with one of Missoula's SMALLEST SCHOOLS

The Missoula International School/Prescott School lease (since 2004) could very well be labeled-  

"One of Missoula's BIGGEST scandals with one of Missoula's SMALLEST schools". 

If one reads many of the posts on this little blog,
Prescott School Missoula, you will see why the above moniker fits perfectly what is going on at-  

Prescott School, a public school - for public school children - for over a century!

The 2004 school closures were devastating for students, teachers, and families

In 2004, at 1:00 in the morning of March 25, the Missoula County Public Schools School Board voted to close 3 schools in the northeast corner of our city. The schools were Mount Jumbo in East Missoula, Rattlesnake Middle School, and Prescott School in the Rattlesnake Valley. 

Our hearts were broken into a million pieces. There is nothing like a school closure, especially multiple school closures, to wreak havoc among a city and a school system.  There is nothing like a school closure to cause deep grief among students and their families. At these times, tears and more tears are the answer to help deal with the tragedy. Time may lessen the pain felt by a school closure, however, for many it will never completely go away.

During the school year, after their homes, students spend most of their lives in a school building. Every school has it's problems, some bigger than others, however, students are for the most part attached to their schools and show allegiance to them, and develop close knit relationships.  Additionally, school spirit can be wonderful experience for children.

The students have forged bonds with teachers and the other students. Some of these bonds are tighter than others, nevertheless they are bonds. The friendships have been cultivated over months and years.  These bonds are also nurtured as many children live in the neighborhood and attend a neighborhood school. Teachers have come to know many of their students and care for them.  Teachers may have taught some of their student's siblings and in rare cases. their mothers or fathers.  This is how is should be, close and caring relationships nurture learning and add to a good education. 

To end the relationships between students, the school building, the teachers, and the entire staff of a school requires rigorous and thoughtful study in addition to caution. This was not done in the morning of March 25, 2004 at 1:00 in the morning. 

Many Missoula County Public School students and their families as well as several teachers are still suffering the consequences of the tragic decision of four Trustees. Rosemary Harrison, Chairwoman of the Board, Jenda Hemphill, David Merrill, and Naomi Kimbell. Other Trustees who voted to close the 3 schools when there was a second closure vote due to violations of open meetings laws were: Toni Rehbein, Scott Bixler, and Joe Toth.

Scott Reed negligent in approving MIS requests for major changes to Prescott School

Missoula International School wrote a letter in November of 2011 to the administration of MCPS requesting to make many changes within the Prescott School building, including changes to the classroom structure of the Prescott School building.  Additionally, MIS requested to make additional changes to the playground area of Prescott School.

Some of the changes to Prescott School requested by Missoula International School in November of 2011 are:

-adding a kiln in the boiler room

- completely changing the structure of some classrooms. This is a historical school built around 1950. Because Prescott is historical and was designed by a noted architect from the Missoula area, H.E. Kirkemo, an associate of A.J. Gibson, the school needs to remain intact and as close to it's original state as possible.

- additional changes to the playground, including removing a piece of playground equipment, the monkey bars, which were enjoyed for many years by public school children.


                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------

The Prescott School change proposal appeared on the November, 2011 Finance and Operations Committee Meeting agenda
which appears below:


PRESCOTT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

Background Information: Missoula International School (MIS) has requested minor tenant improvement projects for Prescott school. These projects have been reviewed and approved by the Director of Operations & Maintenance as they are consistent with improvements that have been made at other MCPS facilities. MIS will use licensed contractors that have been approved by MCPS. MIS will be responsible to pay for the improvement projects, including the building permits, as referenced in the letter attached hereto.

Discussion: Reed explained that Missoula International Schools has requested permission to do some minor improvement projects at Prescott School. These projects are consistent with projects completed in other buildings. Reed reviewed their request and approved it. MIS is using the same procedure that Head Start and Walla Walla University have used in the past in requesting improvements per the lease agreements. This is for information only. THERE WAS NO DISCUSSION.

DIRECTION: INFORMATION ONLY.

Note:  The larger font size and the red font color in addition to the underline, bold, and the italics emphasis included in the agenda above is by Prescott School Missoula.


***********************************************
***********************************************

Prescott School Missoula's opinion on the above issue:

 This decision bypassed the Board as the sole decider was MCPS Maintenance and Operations Director, Scott Reed. There was no discussion at the November 16th Finance and Operations Committee Meeting according to the minutes, no voting, and the topic was not forwarded to be placed on the MCPS monthly Board Meeting agenda.

One could ask - Why was the subject even on the agenda?

Prescott School Missoula is deeply disappointed in the administration of Missoula County Public Schools specifically Scott Reed.

 Scott Reed states above, "Missoula International School (MIS) has requested minor tenant improvement projects for Prescott school."  

Prescott School believes that tearing out walls and moving them is NOT a minor change. This much damage and renovation to the current structure of a building, any MCPS building, would be considered by most people to be a MAJOR change.

There is too much leeway given to the lessee to change the structure of one of our public school buildings. The  changes mentioned above are to accommodate MIS and in all likelihood will not be in the best interests of the public schools when Prescott returns for use as a public school. 

The changes need not be named "improvements" for the district. They are just changes desired by MIS to fit their needs, not the needs of MCPS. This is a common tactic by this administration.

Scott Reed also states above, "These projects are consistent with projects completed in other buildings."

Presccott School Missoula believes that there is a difference between projects completed in other schools which are occupied with public school children and those which are leased. The projects completed in a leased building, as stated above, are for the benefit of the leasee which may or may not benefit the public school children and the school district facility.

It is Prescott School Missoula's opinion that the school district is not looking out for the children of the school district as it is directed to do.

We have a rogue school district where private schools get sweetheart lease deals and on top of that they get full rein to do whatever they please to our public school buildings.

The issue of a private school leasing a public school is corrupt in itself and to allow the private school to remodel both the school and the grounds to suit it's needs is doubly corrupt. 

Ruth Marian Day 1923-2012

Ruth Marian Day

Prescott School Missoula is acknowledging Ruth Marian Day as, according to her obituary, she attended Prescott School as a child.  She would have attended the old school as the current school was built in early 1950.

From the article, "She was born on June 11, 1923, in Missoula to Peter August Dahlberg and Mary Dahlberg and was a lifetime resident of Missoula. She attended Prescott Grade School and graduated from Missoula County High School."

Prescott School Missoula would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Ruth Day.

#6 - Naomi Kimbell: From Missoula County Public Schools Trustee to Executive Director of Missoula International School - Part 6 - Addedum

                           Part 6 - Addendum

Addendum:  Kimbell Leaves Missoula International School

1.  April 5, 2006 - Missoulian article titled, “Poverello Center names new director” - The article reports that former Naomi Kimbell was named the new executive director of Missoula’s Poverello Center.  It also states that Kimbell had been working as director of development when she took over as acting executive director and then was chosen for the permanent position. 

2.  October 7, 2006 - Missoulian article titled, “Board praises director as she leaves the post”, subtitled, “Kimbell to work on memoirs” – The article states, “The executive director of the Poverello Center will leave the job in December to go back to school.  Naomi Kimbell, who took the job on an acting basis last fall, will now turn her focus to creative writing…”   The article also states, “Kimbell is the daughter of respected novelist and short-story writer Rick DeMarinis and grew up on Wylie Avenue

with neighbors Richard Hugo and Jim Welch.” 


3.  November 26, 2006 - The Missoulian also ran an article covering the news of Naomi’s replacement for the executive director of the Poverello Center, reported by Tyler Christensen on.  The opening paragraph states, “For a relative newcomer to Missoula, Ellie Boldman Hill has already become a familiar and seemingly ubiquitous presence in the local volunteer community.”  The article continues, “Now that she’s been named executive director of the Poverello Center, she hopes to make clear her steadfast commitment to both the community and to a nonprofit that’s struggled to find a long-term leader.  Hill will replace departing director Naomi Kimbell, who resigned to pursue a writing career, starting with a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Montana.  Kimbell led the nonprofit for a little over a year following the October 2005 departure of Joe Bischof, who ran the Poverello for three years.”

*Note:   The April 5^th article reports that Kimbell spent much of her career at the YWCA.  One wonders why it skips over the fact that she served as a trustee on the MCPS school board and that she was subsequently hired as the executive director of the Missoula International School. 

*Note # 2:  The October article states that Kimbell grew up in the Rattlesnake Valley, but later chose to close two schools in the area, showing no loyalty to the neighborhood in which she grew up.

$209,000 Modular indicates district needs Prescott School - Open Prescott for $116,000 or less per year

Can there be any doubt that MCPS needs Prescott School?  And that the lease of Prescott to Missoula International School is costing the district even more money than the loss already projected by citizens? (The district continues to deny reality and say that this lease is a revenue producer.)

The recent building of a modular at Rattlesnake School is the icing on the cake when it comes to evidence that Prescott School is needed for our public school students.  Of course, many citizens already knew that Prescott was needed, however, now the Trustees and administrators were finally faced with having to do something at Rattlesnake School to deal with the overcrowding due to increased enrollment.

In the packet of the Finance and Operations Committee Meeting of March 21, 2012, one can read that the school district estimated that modulars at Rattlesnake School and  Lowell School would cost $120,000 and $180,000 each. "The estimated cost is $120,000 -$180,000 each."

Remember, that a math professor sent an email to the school district last July (2011) in which he estimated the loss of funds to the school district in just one year by leasing Prescott School to the Missoula International School was $500,000.  To open Prescott School would cost the district approximately a fifth of the estimated loss caused by the lease for one year.  Let's see .... psm (Prescott School Missoula)  thinks it makes not only fiscal sense but it makes sense in so many other ways (think of many benefits of a neighborhood school) to open Prescott School when the lease is up in 2017. Until then, MCPS can hire paraeducators to deal with any overcrowding issues at Rattlesnake School as has been done in recent years according the Principal Seidensticker.

On the May 15th, 2012 Special Meeting Agenda there are figures from the entities that submitted a bid for the modular projects.

The low bid was $417,147(Serius Construction) and the high bid was $467,062 from Lower Construction.  If you divide $417, 147 by 2 you  get $208,574.  In other words the district underestimated the modular costs by approximately $88,574 - $28,574.  This is the difference between the district's estimate and the low bidder. This discrepancy would be even more stark if you consider the high bidder.

In 2003 when the district closed Prescott School district officials stated that the savings would be $116,000/year.  The $116,000 figure may be slightly different today, however, it is quite clear that the re-opening of Prescott School is not cost prohibitive and is more desirable and beneficial for our students than building a modular, especially in the long run.

The $116,000 cost of operating Prescott in 2003 was in part due to hiring a part-time principal.  When the school was re-opened after the school board election it was decided that the principal at Mount Jumbo School would share principal responsibilities with Prescott in order to save money. Therefore, the cost of opening Prescott School could  now be even lower than the $116,000.  Strangely, the principal, Cindy Christensen was re-hired after the re-opening. Additionally, the parents decided to help with the library to help save money. This position was also replaced. 

What exactly would be recent figures of re-opening Prescott School?  What did the $116,000 include back in 2003 in addition to  the costs mentioned above?  Could the costs be lower, or even much lower, than $116,000? The costs would mainly be for utilities and lower salaried employees, as teachers would re-locate from other schools. There are many factors that would need to be analyzed. We need these figures, open to all, so that we can do what is in the best interests of our children, and that is, according to Prescott School Missoula to re-open Prescott School.

A cost comparison, in other words, a cost/benefit analysis of all the options available to the district was not done when the district was discussing the over-crowding at Rattlesnake School as far as psm knows.  To not study the costs in more detail which would include the costs of re-opening Prescott School was a breach of trust by our administrators and our Trustees.  Once again, our Trustees are favoring a private school over our public school children. 

The Transitioning of Missoula’s Central Neighborhoods

In the August 18, 2007 issue of the Missoulian an article reporting the resignation of MCPS Superintendent Clark, Clark states:

“At the same time, the location of those children is changing.  For a school district that has many of its elementary school buildings concentrated in the center of town, that raises issues of building new schools closer to developing areas like Maloney Ranch.”

According to Dr. Swanson, however, who spoke at a MCPS meeting in 2004, it is preferable for central neighborhood schools to remain open/available and flexible as these neighborhoods are in transition.  The following is a partial transcript of Dr. Swanson’s presentation:

“So the question becomes where are all these folks going to live, all these 20 and 30 year olds?  They’re primarily going to live in homes that these folks (referring to retirees) steadily move out of.   One of the things we don’t completely understand is that housing stock transitions.  And so we look all around these neighborhoods and we’ve got 3 and 4 and 5 bedroom homes.  As people move (this column to the right-[the retirees]) they’re less likely to stay in that home forever, particularly if alternatives are presented to them. So you’re going to see an explosion in multi-family, townhouses, apartments, etc.  To the degree that Missoula does that well and there are good examples and bad examples, will determine how quickly these older folks either stay in those homes or move out to transition the housing stock." 

"So all these folks (the 20 to 30 year olds) won’t move out to the edge of town.  They will simply move back in as the housing stock transitions because its cheaper to buy existing square footage than it is to build square footage, if anybody’s been through that market before.  It’s more expensive to build than it is to buy.  So that’s one of the things we’ve got to consider in all this. So that’s going to happen.”

The above transcription illustrates that the central neighborhoods in our city are transitioning toward young families.  Despite the sale of Roosevelt School in 2005 at the present time Missoula has many available schools to re-open (Mount Jumbo, Prescott, Emma Dickenson, Jefferson and even Whittier) for the student population before building new schools at this time.  This information also validates keeping Hellgate High School open.

Note:  This document was created in approximately 2008, however, the information within it is more pertinent today than ever before. The need to open our closed schools is becoming more clear due to the change in our neighborhood demographics. (July 2012)

Problems with Missoula International School/ Prescott School Lease

Note:  This document was first worked on in 2009, however, the information contained herein is still relevant today.



    <

Problems with MIS/Prescott School Lease

                                             2004

There are serious problems with the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School; these problems began with the earliest discussions in school district meetings and have continued throughout the years of the lease.

Continuing to lease Prescott School to MIS is not in the public’s interest.

Problems with 2004 Lease

From June 2004 Minutes

- Trustees did not see the lease until the board packet was given to them, in other words it was not available to them at the Finance and Operations Committee Meeting.  (Trustee Carol Bellin)

 -The school district was not given an opt out clause, however the Missoula International School was given an opt-out clause under 6 and labeled as a,b, c, d. (Trustee Carol Bellin)  Bruce Moyer states in the minutes,

Bruce Moyer:  “OK, OK, Then in terms of the out-clauses, they are rather specific, they are also under 6 and labeled as a,b,c,d.  So I, but there is not a general out-clause for the district under (inaudible – go back and transcribe) for these specific clauses.  That was the sense that I had from the board in the Finance and Operations Committee Meeting.  Therefore, there is no general out-clause.  For example, if the board should decide that Prescott may be used for sole purposes of the district that would have to wait at the option of Missoula International School until after the 5^th year of the lease.”

     Trustee Bellin: “However throughout the committee meetings I also have had some concerns about it not being understandable to me about why we would allow the flexibility for the lessee and not provide the same flexibility for our district.”

- Trustees thought that if the extra space was needed, Mount Jumbo (Mount Jumbo School in East Missoula) would be available.(Trustee Jenda Hemphill)  Mount Jumbo is quite a distance from Rattlesnake School, therefore it made sense to have the option of the availability of Prescott School as noted in the minutes by Rattlesnake resident  Jeanne  Joscelyn:

               “And I heard Jenda say that we could use Mt. Jumbo for any increase in room that we might need, in case there is an increase in enrollment.  I would, if this closure goes through, I would just propose that Prescott stay open and use that school for that reason, because most of the people that are in this area, in this school area, do come from the Rattlesnake.  So Prescott would be much more convenient. “

- The decision was rushed to accommodate the needs of the Missoula International School.  A quote in the minutes from citizen Teresa Jacobs describes this rush -

“So one of the, I would agree with those who say let’s take more time with this.  I know that there’s been a desire to accommodate the requests of the director you know to have an answer from the school board before their school year ends on the 15^th or something similar to ours but I also would just say can’t we take more time and maybe make a counter proposal.”  And comments from the minutes by math professor, “Let us take the time to do an economic analysis and to look at alternatives that don’t compete with the public schools.”  And, “What’s the rush?”

 -The price for the 5 year lease was ridiculously low.  A math professor, David Patterson, later chairman of the math department at the UM, did the analysis for the price of the lease and found it irresponsible.  The price of the lease would not cover the loses that would accrue due to MCPS students enrolling in MIS due to new location at Prescott School.  Quotes from the minutes by David Patterson follow. 

“I strongly caution against rushing into an agreement to lease Prescott to the Missoula International School.  My concern is that the proposal will cost our public schools more in the long run than it gains, perhaps substantially more.  The proposed rent is so low that it amounts to a subsidy of a private school.  It would take the loss of only a small number of students to offset the revenue gained.  This proposal could in fact end up costing the district far more than it gains.”

 - And from citizen Kathy Pierandozzi,

“I’m not sure if you’re aware of it but homes in lower Rattlesnake for a two bedroom house and I’m not talking about a large home; I’m talking about a 800 square foot home, rent between $750.00 to $900.00 a month. So if we go ahead and rent Prescott School for $20,000 that’s about $1,600 a month.  I think that we could do better than that.  Nothing against the International School but I think that it’s an insult to the taxpayers after you just closed 3 schools that you would go ahead and rent this school for such an inexpensive cost.”   

Note -- psm will edit the typing for ease of reading at a later date and apologized for any confusion caused by the results of cutting and pasting a Word document to Blogger. 

#5 - Naomi Kimbell: From Missoula County Public Schools Trustee to Executive Director of Missoula International School

                                      Part 5  - Post 2004     

22. February 22, 2005 – A letter from Missoula International School signed by Naomi Kimbell (no date) stamped received by MCPS Superintendent’s office on February 22, 2005.  A quote from the letter states,

“It has come to our attention that Prescott may be considered an excess building to the school district.  If this is the case, Missoula International School may be interested in purchasing the building and we would like to discuss this possibility with you.  Please let us know if you would like to arrange a time to talk.   Thank you, we look forward to hearing from you.”  The letter is signed Naomi Kimbell, Executive Director, Missoula International School! 

Trustee Bellin “urged the district to review all buildings and make an analysis in a proactive manner.”

**Note:  Naomi Kimbell is now advocating for the sale of the school, for which she was responsible only months before as a MCPS trustee. If there had been a long term analysis of MCPS properties when Kimbell had served as a Trustee she would not have had to inquire about "excess properties!"

23.  March 29, 2005 - MCPS Finance and Operations Meeting - Agenda Item:  Letter from Missoula International School Regarding Prescott.  Background Information (listed under agenda item):  Discussion of a letter from Missoula International School expressing interest in purchasing Prescott.  Trustees discussed selling Prescott School to Missoula International School with Naomi representing MIS at the meeting.  No action was taken at this time.

*Note:   Not only did Naomi Kimbell gain employment by the private school which benefited from her votes on closure and leasing while serving as a trustee on the school board, she was now making a pitch for the SALE of this school.  This letter was written approximately 7 months after Kimbell resigned from the board and only 9 months after the lease was signed, indicating that the real intent of the private school was to permanently reside in Prescott School.  Additionally,  as as mentioned above, if the district had had a 20 year facility plan before the closures then Kimbell would have known the status of district buildings without having to ask the board at this time.

24.  March 31, 2005 - e-mail from citizen Jeanne Joscelyn to Superintendent Jim Clark regarding the March 29, 2005 Finance and Operations Meeting.  Joscelyn stated that she had not heard of Prescott School being termed an “excess building” in the many meetings that she had attended.  Nor had she observed this issue in writing and asked the Superintendent where this had been discussed.  The issue of excess school buildings had not come before the Finance and Operations Committee or the Board as a whole.  The Superintendent Clark never did respond to Joscelyn’s email!

Conclusion:  The legality of Naomi Kimbell’s actions in this public servant/private school issue has not been investigated; at the very least, just the appearance of wrongdoing by a board member(s) needs to be avoided so as to assure the public that the governance of their schools is in good hands, especially when it involves the valuable facilities of the district. 

Could the school closure decision in 2004 have been tilted toward closure based on future employment given to a trustee with a private entity involved in the closure/lease issue?   Since this issue, and other factors, such as the lack of a long term facilities plan and a professional demographic study, has not been resolved, there is a need for a moratorium on any future land lease or sale transactions in regard to Prescott School.

(reminder: this document was written in 2009 during lease extension discussions)

#4 - Naomi Kimbell: From Missoula County Public Schools Trustee to Executive Director of Missoula International School

                                           Part 4                  

16.  July 20, 2004 - Missoulian article written by Daryl Gadbow about the lease of Prescott School to the Missoula International School titled, “Private school leases Prescott. Missoula International plans to add fourth and fifth grades.”  The article was written one and one-half months after the lease was signed on June 9, 2004. 

Note #1:  Missoula International School was able to immediately expand to two more grade levels as a result of leasing Prescott School.  The increase in MIS enrollment is of significant importance to MCPS as these students are from the same school boundaries as MCPS - in other words - for every student that does not attend MCPS and attends MIS the school district loses thousands of dollars - approximately $4,000 to $5,000 per student.  As pointed out by a nearby resident of Prescott School, just the school itself is a selling point for MIS. 

17.  August 3, 2004 - Missoulian article written by Betsy Cohen titled, “MCPS trustee resigns; Kimbell says new job could cause conflict of interest.”  The article discusses Kimbell accepting a new job as executive director of Missoula International School and that Kimbell thought it was best to resign from the MCPS school board for conflict of interest reasons.  Key quotes from the article state, “While on the board Kimbell was part of the decision- making process to close Prescott and also to rent it to the Missoula International School.” and “Her resignation takes effect August 12^th, two days after the board finalizes the 2004-2005 budget at its August 10^th Meeting.”  Kimbell is also quoted as saying, “Given that Missoula International School is an independent school, sometimes their interests are different from public schools.  If I’m going to be a leader in public schools and in my new job, at some point both roles would come into conflict.  My interest is in being fair to both.”

Note # 1: This is the first article that broke the news about an astounding aspect of the Prescott School/Missoula International School lease.  Prior to this article, the general public was unaware about a relationship between Naomi Kimbell and Missoula International School. Only by going back to view Kimbell's comments throughout the process, one can see that Kimbell supported MIS all along in addition to her voting to close Prescott (twice) and to vote for the lease to Missoula International School.

Note # 2: Kimbell's statements are secondary to the real issue at hand. There is no statement in the article about the possibility or even the need for an investigation into a possible job for a vote scenario.

18.  August 10, 2004 - monthly MCPS School Board Meeting - Board accepts resignation of K-12 Trustee Naomi Kimbell and Declare Her Position on the Board Vacant - Kimbell receives glowing reports and thank yous from many board members who joined her in voting for the school closures and for the Prescott School-Missoula International School lease.  Kimbell also received flowers from the board and a hug from Superintendent Jim Clark.  Quotes from the minutes from pro-closure trustees include:  From Trustee Jenda Hemphill, “Your integrity and honesty and no doubt that you were putting the children first (wording of minutes). Most open-minded board member on this board.  You helped us in some rough places.”  And from Board Chairwoman, Rosemary Harrison,

“An ethical, wonderful person.”  

19.  September 8, 2004 - Missoulian article by Betsy Cohen titled “MCPS board to select replacement trustee”.  The article states, “Trustees will meet to discuss and review the five candidates who wish to fill out the term of Naomi Kimbell, who resigned in August, citing potential conflicts between her new job as director of a Missoula private school and her trustee position.”   The article lists the 5 citizens; Thomas Orr, Eric Waeckerlin, Marlene Hutchins, Loren Meyer, and Heidi Davis.

20.  September 9, 2004 - MCPS Special Board Meeting - Thomas Orr was voted by the board to fill the vacant seat left by Kimbell’s resignation. The board packet included a variety of letters from the applicants, a resume, responses from the applicants to a series of questions adopted by the board, and five letters of endorsement for applicant Marlene Hutchins.

21.  September 10, 2004 - Missoulian article by Vince Devlin – “Attorney appointed despite opposition to pop contract.”  The article states, “Orr – who called the sweetener used in soda pop “a poison” – was chosen from 5 applicants to fill out the term of Naomi Kimbell.  Kimbell resigned in August after being named director of a private school in Missoula.”  The article also states, “Trustee Scott Bixler delivered a ringing endorsement for Waeckerlin, his nephew by marriage, then recused himself from voting.”  Thomas Orr was sworn in at the September 2004 Board meeting.

#3 - Naomi Kimbell: From Missoula County Public Schools Trustee to Executive Director of Missoula International School

Naomi Kimbell:  From Missoula County Public Schools Trustee to Executive Director of Missoula International School

                                                                     Part 3

12.  June 8, 2004 – Letter to the Editor in the Missoulian by Rattlesnake resident/math professor David Patterson – Patterson’s letter explains that a lease of Prescott School had the potential to be financially devastating to the district.  His main reasoning was based on two premises: the low lease rate of the school to Missoula International School (The lease rate was $20,000 for the first 3 years and $30,000 for the last two years, which averages out over 5 years to be $1.19/per square foot!) and the enrollment-based funds that would be diverted from the public school system when students enroll in MIS. Patterson stated that if even 5 students enrolled in Missoula International School, due to its location, the school district would not receive any revenue from the lease, and could potentially lose tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in future years of the lease.  An additional quote from the letter reads:  “Alternative uses of Prescott that do not compete with the public schools should be explored first.  Any agreement to rent to a private school should be at a rate that provides clear benefit to the school district.”

*Note #1:  David Patterson’s letter details very succinctly the financial pitfalls of leasing a public school to a private school.  As the board failed to set aside a separate meeting to discuss the lease, as suggested by a minority member, the trustees, which included Trustee Kimbell (and the public), were denied the opportunity to deliberate these very important ideas, thus not fulfilling its fiduciary duties. 

*Note # 2:  Missoula International School has doubled in size since leasing Prescott School leaving no doubt that the district is losing the tens of thousands of dollars and could possibly stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the 5 year lease.

13.  June 8, 2004 - monthly MCPS School Board Meeting - Agenda Item: Discussion and Ratification of Contract between MCPS and Missoula International School for the Lease of Prescott Elementary School - The motion was moved by Jenda Hemphill and seconded by Trustee Naomi Kimbell.  There were 5 affirmative votes for the ratification of the lease, including Kimbell’s, and 2 abstentions because of conflict of interest issues.  Trustee Carol Bellin first excuses herself from the vote as her son had once attended Missoula International School.  Subsequently, new Trustee, Toni Rehbein, excused herself from the vote as she said she was once on the board of Missoula International School.

*Note#1: Public records reveal that Trustee Rehbein was President in 1999 and 2000 of Missoula International School!

*Note #2: Trustees voted on the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School at the June 8, Board Meeting even though on the agenda to be discussed later in the evening was the litigation of the school closure decision.  The results of this litigation could potentially have reopened Prescott School!

14.  June 9, 2004 - Lease between MCPS for the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School was signed by Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of MCPS, Rosemary Harrison, Executive Director of Business Services, Bruce Moyer, and Board President of Missoula International School, Marta Pierpoint (The lease was ready to sign the day after the board meeting).  A phrase in the lease states, “The term of the lease shall be from August 1, 2004 through July 31, 2009.”  The term of the lease is for five years.

*Note:  MCPS was still in litigation in an Open Meeting Law lawsuit concerning the school closures when it went forward with the ratification of the lease of one of the schools involved in the closures!  A citizen knowledgeable about land issues has suggested that the attorney for the plaintiffs needed to issue a TRO  (this could be the wrong acronym) due to the district going forward with leasing Prescott School. The attorney did not attempt to issue a TRO

15.  July 13, 2004 - MCPS School Board Meeting - Agenda item:  Revisit 2004-2005 Preliminary Secondary Budget Decision of March 24, 2004                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               The  The school closure decision was again brought up before the school board due to a lawsuit addressing breaches of Montana Open Meeting Laws.  The board, with a new make-up because of spring elections as described above voted again to close the three schools with Trustee Kimbell voting with the majority, standing by her March 24, 2004 decision.  Motion passed 6-1 with Trustee Bellin opposed.