#5 - Naomi Kimbell: From Missoula County Public Schools Trustee to Executive Director of Missoula International School

                                      Part 5  - Post 2004     

22. February 22, 2005 – A letter from Missoula International School signed by Naomi Kimbell (no date) stamped received by MCPS Superintendent’s office on February 22, 2005.  A quote from the letter states,

“It has come to our attention that Prescott may be considered an excess building to the school district.  If this is the case, Missoula International School may be interested in purchasing the building and we would like to discuss this possibility with you.  Please let us know if you would like to arrange a time to talk.   Thank you, we look forward to hearing from you.”  The letter is signed Naomi Kimbell, Executive Director, Missoula International School! 

Trustee Bellin “urged the district to review all buildings and make an analysis in a proactive manner.”

**Note:  Naomi Kimbell is now advocating for the sale of the school, for which she was responsible only months before as a MCPS trustee. If there had been a long term analysis of MCPS properties when Kimbell had served as a Trustee she would not have had to inquire about "excess properties!"

23.  March 29, 2005 - MCPS Finance and Operations Meeting - Agenda Item:  Letter from Missoula International School Regarding Prescott.  Background Information (listed under agenda item):  Discussion of a letter from Missoula International School expressing interest in purchasing Prescott.  Trustees discussed selling Prescott School to Missoula International School with Naomi representing MIS at the meeting.  No action was taken at this time.

*Note:   Not only did Naomi Kimbell gain employment by the private school which benefited from her votes on closure and leasing while serving as a trustee on the school board, she was now making a pitch for the SALE of this school.  This letter was written approximately 7 months after Kimbell resigned from the board and only 9 months after the lease was signed, indicating that the real intent of the private school was to permanently reside in Prescott School.  Additionally,  as as mentioned above, if the district had had a 20 year facility plan before the closures then Kimbell would have known the status of district buildings without having to ask the board at this time.

24.  March 31, 2005 - e-mail from citizen Jeanne Joscelyn to Superintendent Jim Clark regarding the March 29, 2005 Finance and Operations Meeting.  Joscelyn stated that she had not heard of Prescott School being termed an “excess building” in the many meetings that she had attended.  Nor had she observed this issue in writing and asked the Superintendent where this had been discussed.  The issue of excess school buildings had not come before the Finance and Operations Committee or the Board as a whole.  The Superintendent Clark never did respond to Joscelyn’s email!

Conclusion:  The legality of Naomi Kimbell’s actions in this public servant/private school issue has not been investigated; at the very least, just the appearance of wrongdoing by a board member(s) needs to be avoided so as to assure the public that the governance of their schools is in good hands, especially when it involves the valuable facilities of the district. 

Could the school closure decision in 2004 have been tilted toward closure based on future employment given to a trustee with a private entity involved in the closure/lease issue?   Since this issue, and other factors, such as the lack of a long term facilities plan and a professional demographic study, has not been resolved, there is a need for a moratorium on any future land lease or sale transactions in regard to Prescott School.

(reminder: this document was written in 2009 during lease extension discussions)