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!

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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.