Below is an email I attempted to send to the Lower Rattlesnake Neighborhood Council, however, I'm not sure if it went through. Whenever, I send an email to this email address, which is on the city website it does not go through for some reason. I will work on getting this email to the Council members as I believe that they need to read it.
Dear Leadership Council Members,
As I have been a Prescott School advocate for many years, 23 years or so, I am interested in
what this leadership council is going to discuss at this meeting as I have been
in past meetings.
I have noticed that the leadership council, and I may not be right in thinking that all people
on the council, have not come to the aid of Prescott School in the past where it counts
the most, the reopeningof the school to the public school children.
When Prescott School was closed, many people opposed the decision. When it was
leased to Missoula International School many people opposed the decision. During
property meetings there was opposition to the lease continuing and also during
discussions of lease extensions.
During these meetings, and I could be wrong, I did not see or hear Lower Rattlesnake
Council members opposing the decisions to begin or continue the lease. With little
opposition from the public the Missoula International School was able to lease our
beloved public neighborhood school from 2004 to 2022(I believe that this is the time
they were out of Prescott School).
I have always, and with just a handful of others, opposed the lease to this private school.
Our children in the middle school ages are bused across town to Washington Middle School
and throughout the years our elementary school children have also been bused to Lowell
I have been told. In 2012 there was a proposal to bus our children to Paxson, but instead
the district built an expensive modular(after having moved a modular from Rattlesnake
School in 2004 to Washington Middle School). And in 2015, one of the projects of the $152
million dollar bond was to build 4 classrooms and a different entrance to Rattlesnake
School. This must have cost more millions. All while Prescott School was leased to the
private school.
You can see that not having Prescott School in the Rattlensnake is costing our district
millions of dollars.
I have forwarded information to this Council and to the Upper Rattlesnake Council
regarding many issues that prove that it would be doable to reopen Prescott School.
These include - the modular could be brought back to Prescott and fit where the older
modular is, the enrollment will be increasing in 2030 according to an economist that
spoke to the district, the boiler issues could be mitigated with a grant as they were
not long ago with another school, Lewis and Clark, the costs of reopening could by spread
out over the years which would include any major repairs.
I do have a forboding feeling whenever I see that the Lower Rattlesnake Council has a
meeting. Because I feel that this Council will not come to the aid in promoting the
reopening of Prescott School. This Council seems to side with the school district
and does not fight for what is right for our neighborhood school. This is the most important
issue in front of the Neighborhood Council at this time. A neighborhood school is the
the most important aspect of a neighborhood.
When my family was at Prescott School a couple of years ago working on the
landscaping, raking, mowing, weedeating, etc. a Council member came to talk
with us. He wondered why we were doing this landscaping and that it was a
waste of time. And that the boiler was going to cost a million dollars, etc. This is
just an example of what I and others have come up against when it comes to the
Council,(again, perhaps not all) when it comes to saving Prescott School. The Council
could be an important part in rallying people to clean up their school.
I would like the Council to stand up and be a voice for Prescott School. This is your most
important job at this time. The most important part of the Rattlesnake, both lower and
upper, is the saving of this school for the children of this area. Prescott School has been
a part of the Rattlesnake since 1891 and needs to continue.
I do not believe that the Rattlesnake Neighborhood Councils should be divided into two,
the Upper and the Lower. Prescott School is important to all people in the Rattlesnake.
All the children are and have been affected by the closure and the lease of Prescott School.
In fact, all children and citizens of Missoula have been affected by the 2004 school closures(Rattlesnake
Middle School, Prescott School, and Mt. Jumbo School) negatively.
As mentioned in the title of this email, there is need to come together with the Upper Rattle-
snake Council to discuss Prescott School. And there is a need for ALL citizens of the
Rattlesnake Valley to have an open forum on how to utilize Prescott School so that
there is little busing of our children out of the Valley. We want our children to be able
to walk and bike to school and enjoy their neighborhood school.
Please consider being a voice for reopening our most precious asset, Prescott School.
Please consider joining me in saving Prescott School. Please be a voice for Prescott School.
This school is crying out for your help as well as the help of others.
If this doesnot happen I do not see the need for Neighborhood Councils and this
Council needs to be disbanded. If this Council does not come to the aid of Prescott
School, there may be something else going on the Rattlesnake that is not transparent,
that is a push for housing or other issues. The Councils are
not meant for politics to run rampant in the neighborhoods, but what is best for them.
Please consider my viewpoints, which many people share, and do what a Neighborhood
Council is meant to do. If I am wrong about where the Council stands on Prescott School,
I apologize profusely and would like to work together to save our school.
Jeanne Joscelyn
a Prescott School in Missoula advocate
406-721-9027
406- 303-0703
Facebook - Save Prescott School
YOUTUBE - Prescott School in Missoula
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