Friday, August 3, 2012

Julie Lennox and/or other administrators of Missoula International School and MCPS Chairwoman Toni Rehbein - "Partners in Crime?"






A short biographical sketch of Julie Lennox follows -
"Julie received a B.A. in Liberal Arts with an EVST emphasis and a B.A. in Elementary Education with High Honors from the University of Montana. She completed her M.A. in Educational Leadership in 2011. Julie has been with MIS as a professional educator and MIS alumni parent since its founding in 1995."
Below is a link to information on the administration of the Missoula International School where the above paragraph was taken.

www.mismt.org/admin.html

Both Julie Lennox, the "Head of School" of the Missoula International School and MCPS Chairwoman Toni Rehbein have a lot in common. 

As stated in the MIS information, Julie Lennox has been associated with the Missoula International School since it's beginning in 1995. 

Chairwoman Toni Rehbein has also been associated with Missoula International School since the early days of the school. Rehbein finally fessed up to this important information in a MCPS committee meeting after she had repeatedly advocated for the Prescott School/Missoula International School lease during her first MCPS Board Meeting in May of 2004.

Montana Corporation Annual Report documents for 1998 and 2000 show that Toni Rehbein was President and Vice President of Missoula International School,respectively.  There was a short time span between serving on the MIS Board and being elected to the MCPS Board of Trustees. 

Julie Lennox has been at most if not all of the MCPS meetings when the issue of the Prescott School/MIS lease is discussed. Lennox's picture was in the newspaper in 2004 when Prescott was in the process of being leased to MIS. Board Chairwoman Toni Rehbein has many times advocated for the lease throughout her time on the MCPS Board. 

Many of the Prescott School/Missoula International School lease decisions have not made sense. Citizens have come forward, such as a math professor who has said that the lease is extremely costly for the district (hundreds of thousands of dollars are being lost due to the lease due to the state funding fomula).

Another person who is very well versed in land issues has  stated in that the lease violates Montana's Trust Laws. 

Demographics in addition to new subdivisions also point to the need of Prescott by MCPS. (See Prescott School is Needed by MCPS post)

The district even went so far as to construct a modular (which is in the process as we speak) at Rattlesnake School to deal with overcrowding.

The overcrowding issue at Ratttlesnake School was known when the district extended the lease in 2011 for 5 more years.

In other words the lease and the extensions (2 extensions) as stated above do not make sense, but it keeps being extended....

Something seems to be going on behind the scenes between the leadership of MIS, perhaps Julie Lennox, and Toni Rehbein and others in the district. 

Before one and perhaps more MCPS Meetings in which the Prescott/MIS lease is discussed the first thing Rehbein does is look to see if her MIS friends are in the audience and waves to them (this can be seen on MCAT tapes of the Board Meetings). Others have witnessed winks from Rehbein to her MIS friends.

This physical evidence seems to indicate that there were conversations before Board Meetings regarding the lease  between MIS officials (perhaps Julie Lennox as she is Head of School), and Toni Rehbein to keep Prescott School in the hands of Missoula International School.

Since 2004, there have been discussions in MCPS Committee Meetings regarding the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School. MIS representatives have voiced their plans for their school and the Prescott School building many times over the years.  

The process usually went this way:  MIS would write a letter discussing their desire to either continue leasing or to buy Prescott School. Soon after, the MCPS Board would place this item for discussion on a Committee agenda, either the Finance and Operations Committee or the Property Ad Hoc Committee.  It seems entirely possible that this was a set up between the two parties.  For minority Trustees on the School Board it was almost impossible to place a desired issue on the agenda of a MCPS meeting. 

Additionally, one only has to observe and read about the preferential treatment MIS receives from the district (see above paragraph). 

The playground is never up to district standards in terms of care.

The MCPS school district helps with painting using district personnel - both in Breach of Contract.

It would be nice to see Rehbein and other Trustees take care of their own constituents as well as they do for MIS!  However, disloyalty is the name of the game since 2004 (and even earlier for Roosevelt School).

 Observation over an eight year period seems to indicate that MIS officials, perhaps Julie Lennox and others, and Toni Rehbein are perfect, "partners in crime". 

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