Rehbein proud of tenure on MCPS Board of Trustees - Missoulian article on front page of the May 5, 2012 edition

Click on the link below to read about how Chairwoman Toni Rehbein views her years on the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees.

Isn't a little (psm means a lot) strange that neither Rehbein nor the Missoulian mentioned one of the most controversial aspects of Rehbein's tenure on the Board - that is the Prescott School/Missoula International School lease?




Rehbein proud of tenure on MCPS Board of Trustees


Below read Prescott School Missoula's initial reaction to the article -  

The conflict on the Board which is mentioned in the beginning of the article stems from a couple of trustees and administers who wished to go against the public's wishes time and time again so that if anyone stood up to them there was he** to pay.  So Toni, Joe, and Scott were elected, and things went smoother for the few trustees because there were fewer trustees to fight for the public's good.

If there were ever to be an investigation into all the wrongs committed by Toni Rehbein psm sure there would be a long list.

As psm is short of time psm will mention what I believe to be the most egregious of her travesties she has inflicted on Missoulians.  That is the lease of Prescott School to the Missoula International School. 

The most important item on the agenda of her first Board Meeting in May of 2004 was the lease Prescott/MIS lease issue.  Right off the bat, Rehbein stated that the lease needed to be rushed.  And that we needed to take advantage of the "bird  in the hand" (paraphrasing). She wished to offer a friendly amendment  to expedite the process.

 Why is the above important?  Something which Rehbein failed to mention in her first MCPS Board meeting - Rehbein was the president for two years and vice president for one year (thus an officer of Missoula International School shortly before running for the MCPS Board of Trustees.

 

She did not vote for the lease in June of 2004, however, she continued to advocate for the lease throughout her time on the Board. She once queried the MIS people during a meeting if they would be interested in leasing Prescott School with an option to buy.  She also advocated for an appraisal of Prescott as the district had so many other price tags on other projects. 

 

Due to this conflict of interest issue (the lawyer says that it isn't one - only that it appears to be) Missoulians are subsidizing what has become an elite private school.  MIS had 33 children enrolled in the school in 2004 - now it has 186(this is according to a citizen who spoke before the Board in a public comment - he called MIS to inquire into the MIS enrollment)!  Loses to the district have been estimated to be in the $500,000 range PER YEAR and most certainly are that amount with the latest MIS enrollment figure. 

The Prescott School/Missoula International School in addition to the selling of Roosevelt have been the sorry and tragic legacy of one of the most corrupt trustees ever to serve on the Board of MIssoula County Public Schools, Toni Rehbein.  I could spend many more hours listing the harm Rehbein has done to Missoula, however, will end with one more - adding the International Baccalaureate Program (it just so happens that MIS is an IB school!!). This most certainly helps her friends at MIS doesn't it as the MIS children can now continue their IB studies at Hellgate High School - courtesy of the Missoula taxpayers!

 This initial reaction to the article was written shortly after the papers were off the press in addition to having only a short window of time in which to write. Due to the rushed response there were quite a few typographical errors.  I may go back and fix them or I may decide not to as they signify the raw emotion behind the words.  (NOTE: psm did edit this post on May 21, 2013.)

 

One last initial reaction:  GOOD RIDDANCE TONI REHBEIN!

P.S.  I will not be naive enough to believe we have not seen the last of Toni Rehbein.  At this moment she is most likely conniving with her friends in the Missoula Education Foundation - a graveyard of despised MCPS administrators.

 Edited on May 31, 2013 as mentioned above.