Lower Rattlesnake children being forced to bus to Rattlesnake School while neighborhood peers are attending a private school (Missoula International School) in the Prescott School building!!

IS THIS FAIR??

This morning Prescott School Missoula was driving in the lower Rattlesnake neighborhood and witnessed one of the most egregious sights brought on by one of the most corrupt school boards in the nation.

At two intersections in the lower Rattlesnake stood children waiting for a bus to take them to school. 

One of these bus stops was at the corner of Elm and Harrrison Streets, the sight of Prescott School in Missoula!!

The other bus stop was at the corner of Locust and Taylor Streets just a couple of blocks from Prescott School.

psm also saw while driving in this neighborhood a child from the lower Rattlesnake walking.  I wondered it this child would go to wait for the bus to take her/him to Rattlesnake School with the others.  No. This child walked into Prescott School which is now leased by Missoula International School. 

So, because children's families choose not to pay the $5,000 per year tuition to attend MIS, thus their neighborhood school, due to  spending the money elsewhere in the family budget OR because they did not wish to enroll in an International Baccalaureate Program School, which MIS is, their children cannot attend their neighborhood school.

Prescott School has served the Rattlesnake children since 1892 - however, due to some very disloyal Trustees on the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees these children are now locked out of attending their neighborhood school - their birthright as Missoulians. 

Prescott School was paid for by Missoula taxpayers - both the building of the school and the maintenance and repairs for more than a century to house public school children - NOT PRIVATE SCHOOL CHILDREN!!

Disloyal Trustees voted to lease Prescott School to Missoula International School in 2004 (see post regarding the sweetheart lease deal) and voted for at lease extension of three years in 2009 and a five year lease extension in 2011, bringing the lease to 2017!!

psm's heart breaks every time it sees Prescott School being used by the competition and neighborhood children being thrown under the bus and not able to attend one of the most wonderful public schools in Missoula.

By the way, this same phenomenon is going on in the neighborhood of Roosevelt School.  Many of the same disloyal Trustees voted for the lease and sale of Roosevelt School to the competing St. Joseph's School.  Both of these leases are costing the district millions of dollars for many reasons discussed in other posts on this blog.

Trustees ignored page 35 of Dr. Larry Swanson's demographic 2009 demographic report when voting to renew Prescott School/MIS lease in 2011

On page 35 of Dr. Larry Swanson's demographic report commissioned by the district in 2009 one can view a graph and a read a couple of paragraphs regarding Missoula County Public Schools student enrollment.

In the information provided by Dr. Swanson it states:

"The chart at the right shows enrollment counts in October of each year at compiled by MCPS for Kindergarten and Grades 1 through 5. Grade progression ratios were calculated for each grade using historical data and the progression ratio used in projecting future enrollment levels are averages for the last four years.  In estimating future kindergarten enrollment, a progression ratio was used based upon birth counts and projections.

"In general enrollment levels for these early grades have been falling for most of the period from the early '90s up to the present.  However, this trend is now beginning to bottom out and enrollment levels should begin to rise, coincide with the recent increase in births and with projected increases in younger children county-wide."

"This rise will ripple through these early grades starting with rising kindergarten numbers and 1st Grade numbers."

This information was available to all MCPS trustees in 2011 before they voted to extend the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School!!


A citizen printed the chart out on page 35 of this report which was then posted with other pertinent information on a poster board which was displayed while making a public comment.  All trustees did not pay attention to this chart at the meeting or before.

Every trustee on the MCPS at this time and other trustees that voted for the lease or even supported the lease (some high school trustees) were not doing their due diligence when extending this lease.

What does this say about MCPS trustees when they ignore the district's own data and give a competing school continued access to one of our favorite public schools?  What does this say when only months later there were discussions of busing our Rattlesnake School kids to Paxson as the principal stated that enrollment had increased by 100 students in the time he had served as principal at Rattlesnake School?  What does this say when the district decided not to bus the children to what was actually a school at capacity itself (Paxson) and BUILT A MODULAR instead?

It says that we do not have a responsible school board.  It also says that we do not have a loyal school board. It most definitely says that we have a wreckless school board.

At this time we no longer have Trustees Rehbein, Toth, and Bixler, nor Drake Lemm on the MCPS Board of Trustees.  We need to get rid of the rest of them in the subsequent elections.  The viability of our school infrastructure is counting on it.

Edited on May 31, 2013
 

Prescott School in Missoula in January 2013

 Prescott School in January



Prescott School in Missoula in January 2013

Notice that there is not Missoula International School sign in this picture.  Missoula County Public School children are being denied the ability to attend Prescott School - a school which was built for them and also maintained for them for decades.

 

We need to make sure that there is not an MIS sign in front of Prescott School after the Prescott School/MIS lease expires in 2017!

Another citizen speaks out against the lease loses to the district as a result of leasing Prescott School to a competing school - Missoula International School

Below is a partial copy of the minutes from the Finance and Operations Committee Meeting held on Monday, March 25, 2013. 

The public comment at the beginning of  the meeting pertains to Prescott School.  Another citizen spoke against the lease of Prescott School by the Missoula International School.

Jack Burns gave  a public comment critical of the latest audit report. 

It is the opinion of Prescott School Missoula that there was a typographical error; the $300 figure was most likely supposed to read $300,000.  This is the figure that another citizen came up with on the loses to the district as a result of the lease in the recent past, psm believes in 2011.  Another citizen, who makes his living as a math professor estimated the loss to be $500,000 in 2011.  These figures are yearly estimates of the loss.  Therefore, one can see that the lease has cost the taxpayers millions since 2004. 

NOTICE:  Jack Burns called MIS and the school told him that the MIS ENROLLMENT IS NOW UP TO 186 STUDENTS. This is unfathomable!  REMEMBER THAT THE ENROLLMENT WAS ONLY 33 STUDENTS IN 2004. Therefore the ENROLLMENT OF MIS IS 153 STUDENTS SINCE THEY LEASED ONE OF MISSOULA'S FAVORITE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRESCOTT SCHOOL, LOCATED IN THE LOWER RATTLESNAKE VALLEY.

Every citizen and taxpayer needs to call the school district and let every trustee and administrator that this gig has to end when their lease expires in 2017.

Missoula County Public Schools telephone number - 728-2400 

Ask to leave a message with every trustee and the superintendent.

Thank you!

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

MISSOULA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

FINANCE & OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AGENDA

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2013 – 12:00 - 2:00 P.M.

BUSINESS BUILDING BOARDROOM

915 SOUTH AVENUE WEST

Committee Members Present: Marcia Holland, Toni Rehbein, and Debbie Dupree

Other Trustees Present: Scott Todd, Jim Sadler

Others Present: Pat McHugh, Alex Apostle, Mark Thane, Karen Allen, Scott Reed, Linda Sims, Melanie Charleston

MINUTES

Committee Chair Holland opened the meeting at 12:05 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Jack Burns stated that late Saturday evening he was looking at the Missoula County Public Schools’ 2012 Audit. There is a minor mathematical error on page 79. Total Federal Awards should be $12,970,994. It is frustrating that it was not caught. He looked at the management comments. In reading that document he saw three or four typographical errors, and that was also frustrating. On page 13, The Future of The District the comment that references the UofM is accurate, but only a portion of that money comes to the District. Some words are missing in the last paragraph. On page 10 there is a Table 3 and Analysis of Financial Information. He feels that the grants should be broken out in separate numbers assuming that the grants are awarded annually and spent annually. Looking at the body of the report he observed the lease to a private educational competitor, Missoula International Schools (MIS). He called MIS and they confirmed that they have 186 students. This capital cost in ANB would be about $300 annually which is a loss to MCPS. He was disappointed in the quality of the report and the mathematical error.

Toni Rehbein smiling - Prescott School crying

Toni Rehbein -

She is smiling - 

 

Prescott School in Missoula is crying.

 

 

 

Good riddance Toni Rehbein.  Please do not come near a Missoula public school again.

 

 

 

Rehbein proud of tenure on MCPS Board of Trustees - Missoulian article on front page of the May 5, 2012 edition

Click on the link below to read about how Chairwoman Toni Rehbein views her years on the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees.

Isn't a little (psm means a lot) strange that neither Rehbein nor the Missoulian mentioned one of the most controversial aspects of Rehbein's tenure on the Board - that is the Prescott School/Missoula International School lease?




Rehbein proud of tenure on MCPS Board of Trustees


Below read Prescott School Missoula's initial reaction to the article -  

The conflict on the Board which is mentioned in the beginning of the article stems from a couple of trustees and administers who wished to go against the public's wishes time and time again so that if anyone stood up to them there was he** to pay.  So Toni, Joe, and Scott were elected, and things went smoother for the few trustees because there were fewer trustees to fight for the public's good.

If there were ever to be an investigation into all the wrongs committed by Toni Rehbein psm sure there would be a long list.

As psm is short of time psm will mention what I believe to be the most egregious of her travesties she has inflicted on Missoulians.  That is the lease of Prescott School to the Missoula International School. 

The most important item on the agenda of her first Board Meeting in May of 2004 was the lease Prescott/MIS lease issue.  Right off the bat, Rehbein stated that the lease needed to be rushed.  And that we needed to take advantage of the "bird  in the hand" (paraphrasing). She wished to offer a friendly amendment  to expedite the process.

 Why is the above important?  Something which Rehbein failed to mention in her first MCPS Board meeting - Rehbein was the president for two years and vice president for one year (thus an officer of Missoula International School shortly before running for the MCPS Board of Trustees.

 

She did not vote for the lease in June of 2004, however, she continued to advocate for the lease throughout her time on the Board. She once queried the MIS people during a meeting if they would be interested in leasing Prescott School with an option to buy.  She also advocated for an appraisal of Prescott as the district had so many other price tags on other projects. 

 

Due to this conflict of interest issue (the lawyer says that it isn't one - only that it appears to be) Missoulians are subsidizing what has become an elite private school.  MIS had 33 children enrolled in the school in 2004 - now it has 186(this is according to a citizen who spoke before the Board in a public comment - he called MIS to inquire into the MIS enrollment)!  Loses to the district have been estimated to be in the $500,000 range PER YEAR and most certainly are that amount with the latest MIS enrollment figure. 

The Prescott School/Missoula International School in addition to the selling of Roosevelt have been the sorry and tragic legacy of one of the most corrupt trustees ever to serve on the Board of MIssoula County Public Schools, Toni Rehbein.  I could spend many more hours listing the harm Rehbein has done to Missoula, however, will end with one more - adding the International Baccalaureate Program (it just so happens that MIS is an IB school!!). This most certainly helps her friends at MIS doesn't it as the MIS children can now continue their IB studies at Hellgate High School - courtesy of the Missoula taxpayers!

 This initial reaction to the article was written shortly after the papers were off the press in addition to having only a short window of time in which to write. Due to the rushed response there were quite a few typographical errors.  I may go back and fix them or I may decide not to as they signify the raw emotion behind the words.  (NOTE: psm did edit this post on May 21, 2013.)

 

One last initial reaction:  GOOD RIDDANCE TONI REHBEIN!

P.S.  I will not be naive enough to believe we have not seen the last of Toni Rehbein.  At this moment she is most likely conniving with her friends in the Missoula Education Foundation - a graveyard of despised MCPS administrators.

 Edited on May 31, 2013 as mentioned above.