First, psm would like to address the length and the timing of the meeting. The time of the meeting was 12:00 noon to 3:30 p.m.. Who can attend meetings at this time outside of the meeting members? Very few. Most people are working during this time period. Parents are busy working, getting a meal on the table, perhaps picking up the children, and or taking care of the younger children. It was a hardship for psm to attend what amounted to a four hour meeting.
December 6th is the beginning of the holiday season. It was First Night, an event that many Missoulians like to attend. Every Friday from 5- 7 in the evening galleries and businesses are open. Perhaps if a person was planning on going to First Friday they would not have attended a 3-4 hour meeting.
And three hours is an unacceptable time span for a meeting - even for committee members. One to two hours needs to be the limit for a facility meeting. This was the time span of the other property meetings in 2006-07. (This is the ONLY good thing psm will say about these property meetings.)
Someone at the meeting stated that each school had five representatives. This apparently did not include the schools that have been closed. These schools are:
Prescott
Mt. Jumbo
Dickinson
Jefferson
Whittier
Lincoln as it is for sale
Roosevelt as it has a clause that MCPS gets first chance for a purchase (This is called "right of first refusal".)
These schools need 5 representatives, also, if one is considering a comprehensive facility plan.
As psm was involved in the 2004 school closures, psm knows that it was not a fair process. There were open meeting violations, a very short deliberation process, trustees did not have the proper information before the meetings in order to make informed decisions, demographics were not legitimately considered, all costs of the closures were not on the table, etc.
psm knows from listening to the grapevine that the Dickinson School closure was very controversial. In fact, I've been told that it was Hawthorne School was on the chopping block and because Hawthorne attorney parents started speaking up the closure switched to Dickinson. I'm also told that many parents in this area would like this school to reopen.
What about Jefferson? What about Mt. Jumbo? What about Whittier, Lincoln and Roosevelt - see note above -? Do not facility members think that the neighbors would like to see these schools reopened? Do not these schools need to be reopened before the district builds new buildings?!
In closing, at this meeting, whose membership includes Principal Seidensticker, it was brought up that Rattlesnake School could be converted to a K-8 school. A K-8 configuration is what many Missoulians would like to return - including psm.
AT THIS TIME PEOPLE DO NOT NEED TO KNOW THE EXACT CONFIGURATION OF PRESCOTT AND RATTLESNAKE SCHOOLS - THIS CAN BE FIGURED OUT WHEN THE PRESCOTT SCHOOL IS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS.Why not make Prescott School and Rattlesnake Schools separate K-8 schools as they once were - this would get psm vote! The smaller schools offer the best education.
However, at this meeting, Prescott School Missoula was stunned as what this committee had discussed was converting Rattlesnake School into a K-8 school WITHOUT USING PRESCOTT SCHOOL IN THE DISCUSSION. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THIS COMMITTEE. OF COURSE, MOST CITIZENS WOULD CONSIDER REOPENING PRESCOTT SCHOOL BEFORE ANYMORE CONSTRUCTION IS DONE OR ANYMORE BUSING OF OUR CHILDREN TAKES PLACE! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS -
PRESCOTT SCHOOL MISSOULA BELIEVES THAT SUPERINTENDENT APOSTLE NEEDS TO RESIGN. AT THIS MEETING PSM HEARD APOSTLE SAYING WE MUST GIVE MISSOULA CHILDREN THE BEST EDUCATION WE CAN. Which children was he speaking of? The children of Missoula International School, a private school? Must be, as he continually ignores the problems of this lease for Missoula's public school children.
APOSTLE IS OUT HIS LEAGUE HERE AND IS TAKING MISSOULA SCHOOLS DOWN WITH HIM.
APOSTLE WANTS TO RADICALLY CHANGE MISSOULA'S FACILITIES TO ACCOMMODATE HIS STUPID 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION WHICH HE CAN TAKE AND STICK WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE!
Note: In the sports world at this time Peyton Manning told the sports media that they can take the notion of him not being able to play in the cold and stick it where the sun don't shine. psm decided to apply this saying to the 21st Century education plan of MCPS. (This may sound unprofessional, however, when our government leaders get out of hand people, including psm, lose patience every once in a while!)
Suggestions for where administrators can stick the plan where the sun don't shine are:
- basement of administration building
- dig a big hole in an unknown playground unknown to administrators and label it "time capsule". When it is found many years in the future people will laugh at the shortsightedness and harmful aspects of the plan.
- many other possibilities exist - psm is sure that people can come up with lots of good places to "stick" this plan!
edited on January 14, 2014
Note: Former MCPS Trustee is on the facility committee - she voted to close 5 of the closed schools. psm does not think that including Harrison should be on this committee!!
Note: This was emailed to publiccomment
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