Today, September 4th, 2012, Prescott School Missoula observed the first day of school for Missoula International School, a private school leasing Prescott School in the lower Rattlesnake.
psm (Prescott School Missoula) is actually still in shock over the scene observed as cars kept rolling onto Harrison Street loaded with one or more children along with a parent or two. Many cars turned up Briar Street off of Van Buren Street and even more cars turned up Elm Street also off Van Buren Street.
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| Cars were lined up on both sides of the street for blocks |
Observations took place between approximately 8:15 - 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. There were so many cars pulling into the school there needed to be three people from MIS acting as crossing guards to advise the parents on where to park. One crossing guard was at the Elm Street/Harrison Street intersection (Head of School, Julie Lennox), another at the other end of the school, at the Briar Street/Harrison Street intersection and another in the middle of these streets. At each intersection and in the middle of the block there had to be signs telling which age groups went where.
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| There were signs directing cars where to go. |
The cars began pulling into Elm and Briar Streets at about 8:15 and DID NOT STOP until 9:00 or longer. It was a steady stream of cars for approximately an hour. Along the perimeter of the school, every parking spot was taken. Cars had to park next to the sidewalks of neighbors. If psm were a neighbor I would not like so many cars pulling up next to my house every day.
There were so many cars that parents had to park them on both sides of Harrison Street for an entire block down to the intersection
with Locust Street and continued onto Locust. The same was happening on the north side of the school with cars lining Harrison down to Willow Street.
Some parents and children were riding their bikes to school.
The bike racks had several bikes in it - approximately 15 or so. psm reminds readers that a concerned citizen in 2004 wondered if the lease would effect the Rattlesnake School population.
This most assuredly has happened as witnessed by the number of bike riders, the number of cars with MIS stickers on the bumpers in the Rattlesnake, and conversations with people in the Rattlesnake about neighbors enrolling in MIS.
A similar scene had been observed a couple of years ago, however, this year it has grown quite substantially.
To a person unaware of the consequences to the district this scene may not have been troublesome or so shocking.
To citizens that understand the financial and social implications of leasing a public school to a private school, the scene was frightening and infuriating at the same time. For a school board to allow the scene described above to happen in the first place is absolutely criminal. If the loses to the district caused by this lease were charged to every school board member that voted to extend this lease they most certainly would have voted against the extension.
psm reminds citizens that a math professor wrote a letter to every school board member and the superintendent before the vote on the lease extension of Prescott School in 2011, stating that after looking at the substantial gain in enrollment after the lease of Prescott School in 2004 until 2010 the estimated loss to the district had evolved into $500,000 a year. This same math professor warned the district about the dangers of the lease in 2004, however, as in 2011, MCPS trustees and superintendent ignored the statements to the peril of every property tax payer in Missoula.
After witnessing the massive amount of people, both students and parents, of the private school this morning I am convinced that there is no way this is not drastically effecting the bottom line of MCPS's budget.
psm urges citizens to come down to 1100 Harrison Street between the hours of 8:00 and 9:00 a. m. on a school day and witness what your corrupt school board has allowed to happen in our public school system. The outright disloyalty gives this Missoula County taxpayer and Prescott School advocate a huge sense of betrayal by MCPS Trustees. psm recommends that they also drive up the road to Rattlesnake School and observe the new expensive modular. There were no discussions, at least none that were documented, of re-opening Prescott School prior to building the modular.
Every school board member as well needs to also come down to Prescott School between the above hours and see what a travesty they have caused for our school system.
The people most responsible for this fiasco and tragedy all rolled into one gigantic mistake are: Rosemary Harrison, Jenda Hemphill, Naomi Kimbell, Scott Bixler, Joe Toth, former and current superintendents, Jim Clark and Alex Apostle and most of all the former Missoula International School president, TONI REHBEIN, THE CURRENT CHAIRWOMAN OF THE MISSOULA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
Prescott is not the first school Rehbein has used to give to private schools. She along with Rosemary Harrison, Jenda Hemphill, Scott Bixler, and Joe Toth voted to sell Roosevelt to the private school, St. Joseph's School, a Catholic School, in 2005.
It is Prescott School Missoula's opinion that the trustees and superintendents listed above are some of the most disloyal and dangerous trustees in MCPS history. After what psm saw today at Prescott School this opinion will most surely not change with time, but will only make it stronger.
psm has been a Prescott School advocate for many years, since two sons attended this wonderful school which has served our citizens for over a century. It was because psm cares so deeply for this school, as many others do as well, that today's observations took place.
psm did take pictures of the enormous amount of traffic and the signs posted in the street in order to document the scene. psm has been advised that it is best not to take pictures of children in order to deflect any problems that may arise by doing so. psm understands this and is taking extra precautions to avoid taking pictures of people.
psm would like to report that a police man came to my door today as the MIS administration complained of my presence. psm will attempt not be intimidated by MIS administrators whom do not seem to wish this travesty to be filmed.
