Where are the people who closed Prescott School and then leased it to the private Missoula International School?

Where are the people who were responsible for closing our most treasured Prescott School?
Remember - the people, the Missoula County Public Schools Trustees, are by name:

Board Chairwoman - Rosemary Harrison
Trustee Jenda Hemphill(aka Jenda Cummings) later Board Chairwoman
Trustee Toni Rehbein (aka Toni Smartt) and later Board Chairwoman
Trustee Scott Bixler
Trustee Joe Toth

The above Trustees voted in the July, 2004 MCPS Board Meeting. This meeting was the SECOND vote on the Prescott School closure issue.

The Missoula County Public Schools Trustees who voted on March 24 to close the school were)(only a 48 day process!)

Rosemary Harrison (see above)
Jenda Hemphill (see above)
Naomi Kimbell (aka Naomi DeMarinis)
and
David Merrill

Trustees who did not vote for the closure were: Suzette Dussault, Colleen Rogers, and Carol Bellin.

As one can see only four MCPS Trustees can radically transform  a neighborhood, a school district, and the city as a whole. It is quite apparent that there needs to be a tweaking of the process of school closures and also for school sales.

To get back to the topic on where the Trustees who voted for the closure of Prescott School are today -

Without too much research I believe that most of the people listed are still in Missoula. Rosemary Harrison is now a realtor, Scott Bixler was and still is I believe, working for the Forest Service, Joe Toth was and still is, I believe, working as a fireman. Jenda Hemphill, I have heard, unfortunately, has a disease, which I won't mention here. Naomi Kimbell, I believer is writing like her father did before her. And, I will have to see if I can find out where David Merrill works.

The point is that all of these people are now leading their own lives away from their past school board duties and none are taking responsibility for the troubles which they have caused. None are being held accountable for our crowded schools, for the busing of half of our school children due to the school closures for which they voted, for all the increased infrastructure building, etc. Wouldn't it have been just as easy to be cautious and NOT to have closed the schools, not to have sold a school, and not to have leased a school to a private school? Yes, but politics got in the way.

And politics is still in the way - One of the above Trustees was voted out of office, and soon after helped to start the Missoula Education Foundation. This foundation works closely with the school district. All the better to be close to MCPS business, including being part of the bond committee) and to manipulate outcomes of decision making. This Trustee also has children and grandchildren - so is his/her hands in school business affecting her grandchildren. Do they attend a school with the International Baccalaureate program is instituted by MCPS for example?

All things to consider so that lessons can be learned for future decisions.

Small Versus Large Schools: The Truth About Equity, Cost, and Diversity of Programming

This report looks like a great source of information  on small schools - Prescott is the perfect small school. Prescott did not ever need to be closed and definitely needs to be reopened!



Small Versus Large Schools: The Truth About Equity, Cost, and Diversity of Programming

2017 New Post! Independent article from 2008 regarding the lease renewal of Prescott School

Getting schooled: The renewal of an MCPS building lease angers residents



Please read this article even though it is older it is still relevant to the situation of our beloved Prescott School being closed. Prescott needs to be reopened!

YOO RAY!!! MISSOULA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL TO LEAVE PRESCOTT SCHOOL - A SCHOOL THEY HAVE HIJACKED SINCE 2004

Dear Readers to the Prescott School Missoula blog.

I would like to apologize for not keeping you informed of the most important news since 2004 as it relates to this unimagined nightmare of the lease of our beloved Prescott School to the private Missoula International School.

I have had many personal challenges - not life threatening thank goodness- so have not been posting on this blog for many months. For this I apologize.

Additionally, the Missoulian with it's many changes in personnel changed the technical side of sharing their articles on blogs. Being quite tech illiterate (its actually quite amazing this blog exists - I guess one can credit Blogger for making it quite easy to get a blog going) I have not shared the most amazing article (Missoulian) from December of last year.

I will attempt to share the article soon.

HOWEVER, THE MISSOULIAN REPORTED IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR (2015) THAT MISSOULA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL WILL BE LEAVING PRESCOTT!!

Now we just need to make sure we get our school back so that public school students can once again attend the school that is rightfully theirs and should NEVER have been leased to a private school!!

SIRE Public Access Missoulians - Missoula Internatinal School is once again proposing a public/private partnership - this time with the city! Call your ward reps to oppose this proposal!

SIRE Public Access



Click on the link above to read about a proposal regarding MIS and the city of Missoula.



Missoulians - Once again proposing a public/private partnership - this time with the city! Call your ward reps to oppose this proposal!

A lasting bond: Fifty years after taking the stage, old Missoula friends remain close

Click on the link below to read a report about some close friends from Prescott School from many years ago. The article shows a darling picture of the four friends on the Prescott School stage performing in a play at Christmastime.

We need to make sure that Prescott School remains in the public school system so that more children can experience the wonderful
learning environment of Prescott. 

A lasting bond: Fifty years after taking the stage, old Missoula friends remain close

Missoula schools: History shows Prescott's importance

Click on the link below to read a letter to the editor in the Missoulian regarding the history of Prescott School in Missoula.



This is a "catching up" post as the letter was printed in the April 14, 2015 edition.


Missoula schools: History shows Prescott's importance