Prescott School Missoula Advocates
Principal Ideas for Prescott
School Missoula Advocates
**The main purpose of
Prescott School Missoula Advocates (PSMA) is to encourage and work toward the
re-opening of Prescott School in Missoula, a public-school serving Missoula
since 1892.
**PSMA strongly
discourages the use of this school or any of the other Missoula schools for
housing or any other purposes. Our schools were paid for and built for the public-school
children of Missoula.
**Maintenance of Prescott School has been
neglected. Due to the lack of maintenance of Prescott School for approximately
20 years, PSMA is advocating for the past negligence to be corrected, bringing
Prescott School to 2004 levels or even better. (The private school which was
leasing Prescott School for many years was in breach of contract in maintenance
of the school and grounds.)
**Keeping Prescott
School in good condition, both inside and outside, is important. A school which
is well maintained can re-open more quickly. PSMA is against planned
obsolescence.
**We encourage the
district to keep the historical nature of the building intact. Keeping the
original design without renovation would be optimal. Basic maintenance is
important, leaving the charm of the original classrooms intact.
**Prescott School
could be open to both public-school students from the Rattlesnake and public-school
students from other over-crowded schools – a practice that was implemented by
MCPS in the past.
**The grades to be
housed in Prescott School do not need to be decided before the basic
maintenance is completed – many grades have been housed in Prescott throughout
the years.
**Re-opening the
lower level of the school can be done first.
Gradually add upper-level classrooms when ready to be used. Housing some
students that are currently being bused (which is many!) out of the Rattlesnake
would be optimal. A smaller school offers a better education. (“Dollars &
Sense, The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools”, 2002)
**Some maintenance
can be done at a slower pace than others and could be done after the opening of
the school.
**PSMA encourages using
a positive approach on areas that are more costly such as heating systems and
roof issues, in contrast to a negative approach which disincentivizes looking
at a myriad of possibilities. There are sure to be more efficient alternatives
to the higher cost items or fixing rather than replacing. Additionally, there could be grants, either
state, local, or federal.
**PSMA believes that volunteers
could be an integral part of the maintenance needs of our schools as time and
ability permits. One area could be grounds maintenance. Other maintenance needs (both inside and
outside) could be approved and overseen by the district.
**PSMA would like
to keep tabs on enrollment trends.
**PSMA would like
to collect old classroom pictures to be displayed in the school, on a web page,
and perhaps on social media. Continued page 2 ------------à
**PSMA reminds the
district and others that Prescott School was and is still a much-beloved school,
so dear to many students, teachers, families, and the neighbor’s hearts.
**Prescott School has been an important
public school since 1892; Its history is important to the Rattlesnake area and
to the entire city of Missoula and needs to continue into the current century!
** Prescott School
Missoula Advocates would like to get on the same page with other entities/groups/neighborhood
councils, that pertain to the future of Prescott School. PSMA’s reason for existing
is advocating for the reopening of Prescott School. Again, PSMA is against
using Prescott School for housing or other ideas.
** Thank you for
supporting one of Missoula’s greatest assets – Prescott School! **Thank you to
all the proponents of neighborhood schools!
Please contact the Missoula school district and let them know
that we must keep Prescott School as a school, as it has been for more than a century (outside of the 20-year inappropriate
private school lease)! We must not let a private school determine the fate of yet
another public school (St. Joseph’s at Roosevelt School)! We need Prescott School
for many reasons (many students are bused to other schools). Maintaining our existing assets is a wiser use
of our limited financial resources instead of building another school. Other
neighborhood schools need reopening as well. Rattlesnake taxpayers are sending
millions to MCPS. A complete look at the
spending will reveal where cuts can be made. Thank
you!
Email addresses: micahhill@mcps.mt.us (Superintendent), publiccomment@mcps.mt.us (Board of Trustees, Missoula County
Public Schools) and mailing address:
Missoula
County Public Schools, 990 South Ave. W. Building A, Missoula, MT 59801 Attn: Superintendent
Hill and Board of Trustees, Missoula County Public Schools
Contact
info for Prescott School Missoula Advocates – text 406-303-0703
**For
past Prescott School information see – prescottschoolmissoula.blogspot.com and
for more recent information see –
Saveprescottschool on Facebook.
This draft
was written in July of 2025 by Jeanne Joscelyn, Prescott School Missoula Advocate.
