ONE‑PAGE SUMMARY on the Investigative report on the closure and lease of Prescott School to the Missoula International School

 

ONE‑PAGE SUMMARY

Investigative report on the closure and lease of Prescott School to the Missoula International School

Prescott School Investigative Summary — 1 Page

Prescott School served the Rattlesnake Valley for more than 135 years. Between 1998 and 2004, MCPS repeatedly attempted to close Prescott. In 2004, the Board voted twice to close the school and immediately pursued a lease with Missoula International School (MIS), a private institution seeking expansion.

Key Findings:

• MIS publicly announced expansion plans in 2002 and formally requested Prescott School in April 2004—before the second closure vote.
• Several Trustees who voted to close Prescott had past or future ties to MIS.
• One Trustee voted twice to close Prescott and then immediately became MIS’s executive director.
• Another Trustee, a former MIS Board president, urged MCPS to “speed up” the lease approval.
• MIS received a lease rate of $0.79/sq ft, far below the rates charged to other tenants ($1.75–$2.25/sq ft).
• A University of Montana math professor warned the Board that the lease could cost MCPS hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
• His warnings were ignored.
• The closure displaced hundreds of students, increased transportation costs, reduced neighborhood school access, and caused long‑term financial harm to MCPS.

Conclusion: The Prescott School case demonstrates how misaligned priorities, conflicts of interest, and ignored financial warnings can harm public education. Stronger safeguards are needed to ensure that public schools remain dedicated to public school children.