Missoula International School Infiltration of the MCPS Board of Trustees - Public Comment at recent MCPS Board Meeting

A little background – Prescott School was closed along with 2 other north side schools in 2004 and immediately leased to Missoula International School. Our hearts were broken in 2004 and many, I included, ten years later continue to be saddened by this unnecessary tragedy.

A blog created to provide information on Prescott School and the lease to Missoula International School, at www.prescottschoolmissoula.blogspot.com has a post and a page (at the top of the blog) which addresses the infiltration or possible infiltration of Missoula International School supporters of the MCPS Board of Trustees and another MCPS position. 

A list was created to address this topic and includes parents, officers, and business associates of Missoula International School. On this list are: Toni Rehbein, Adam Duerk, Michael Smith, Marta Pierpoint, and perhaps Joseph Knapp. The connections or possible connections to MIS are listed on the website. There certainly could be more - how can we be sure if there are more MIS supporters on the Board - we can't!?

Additionally, other Trustees were no doubt influenced by the pro-MIS Trustees on the Board.

Are there more names to add to the list of MIS infiltrators after the election this May? I believe so – it has come to my attention that Trustee Newbold’s spouse works at ALPS, (as does the spouse of Trustee Smith). ALPS is a business at which David Rehbein, spouse of former Trustee Toni Rehbein, is employed and I believe is the CEO.

I haven’t spoken with Trustee Kendall on this issue; however, Kendall was part of discussions of a private school middle school in Prescott in 2005. After a conversation with her my opinion will be clearer.

In short, has MIS run candidates currently and in the past for the MCPS Board in order to make decisions favorable to them?

Was Prescott actually closed to make way for the MIS lease?  And after 10 years of reflection, in my opinion, is, yes to both questions.

Influencing elections by private schools, is nothing new to Missoula by the way – it has been revealed in a lawsuit that there was influence by the leadership of St. Joseph’s School in a MCPS election which may have enabled the sale of Roosevelt School.

Because of the influence or even the possible influence of the private school in MCPS elections a repeat lease extension of Prescott School to MIssoula International School needs to be taken off the table.

It is painfully clear that MCPS needs Prescott School. A modular, massive busing of Rattlesnake children out of the Valley is proof enough. 

MCPS needs to begin making plans to again open our school to public school students in 2017.

MIS needs to make plans for another location after 2017.