Click on the link below to read about "bond fatigue" by Missoula taxpayers as the parks and trails bond passed last week. It was the largest bond to pass in Missoula's history.
Bond fatigue: Will Missoula parks bond scuttle other efforts?
As a person that pays property taxes and has seen the taxes raised by approximately $900 in the past ten years msw would be quite disappointed to have my taxes raised by the school district by such a huge amount next year, especially when the planned "improvements" are not what our schools need. We need to reopen our closed schools first and then do the deferred maintenance on each of our neighborhood schools using a priority list. This is the best plan for our schools at this time and has always been the best plan - it just has not been carried out.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
September 25, 2014 Missouian article - MCPS trustees get firsthand lesson on aging schools' needs on tour
MCPS trustees get firsthand lesson on aging schools' needs on tour
Yet another assault on our neighborhood public school system - more traditions lost and more unnecessary changes.
Yet another assault on our neighborhood public school system - more traditions lost and more unnecessary changes.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Bullock touts pre-kindergarten plan as economic driver in Missoula Missoulian online story - October 15, 2014
Click on the link below to read a Missoulian article reporting on pre-school advocated by Governor Bullock.
Bullock touts pre-kindergarten plan as economic driver in Missoula
Bullock touts pre-kindergarten plan as economic driver in Missoula
Monday, September 15, 2014
MCPS gives 13 percent raise to Superintendent Apostle - January 16th, 2013 Missoulian article
Click on the link above to read a January 16,th, 2013 Missoulian article reporting on the raise given to Superintendent Apostle by the MCPS Board of Trustees.
A quote from the article states:
A divided Missoula County Public Schools board approved a 13 percent pay raise for Superintendent Alex Apostle at a special meeting on Monday.The board voted 6-4 in favor of the new three-year contract, which retroactively boosts Apostle’s salary from $155,000 to $175,000 this school year. It also provides raises to $185,000 in 2013-14 and $200,000 in 2014-15. And it increases the district’s contribution to Apostle’s tax-shelteredMissoula citizens were livid when the news broke. A Hellgate student started a petition which garnered about 2,000 signatures. This petition was online and was signed by many Missoulians from all walks of life. The petition asked that the Superintendent return the raise amount or even donate it back to the schools for supplies. Apostle did not return the money nor donate it.annuity and allows him to cash in unused vacation and personal days.
The February 2013 MCPS Board Meeting was held in the Sentinel High School gym and was filled with approximately 500 people, most very unhappy with the raise.
Missoula school board names new member | KTVQ.com | Q2 | Billings, Montana
Missoula school board names new member | KTVQ.com | Q2 | Billings, Montana
Click on the link above to read a short clip about Trustee Nancy Pickhardt's replacement who was appointed to the MCPS Board of Trustees in October of 2010.
Click on the link above to read a short clip about Trustee Nancy Pickhardt's replacement who was appointed to the MCPS Board of Trustees in October of 2010.
Nancy Pickhardt resigns from Missoula school board, cites 'distraction' - Missoulian article from the August 26, 2010 edition
Nancy Pickhardt resigns from Missoula school board, cites 'distraction'
Click on the link above to read about the resignation of MCPS Trustee Nancy Pickhardt from the school Board in 2010.
A quote from the article states:
Click on the link above to read about the resignation of MCPS Trustee Nancy Pickhardt from the school Board in 2010.
A quote from the article states:
"Pickhardt has been the center of controversy since the Missoulian reported Aug. 4 that she left an obscenity-laced message on theAnother quote from the article states:answering machine of a school board critic."
"The message was a personal attack against a man who wrote a letter to the editor of the Missoulian pointedly critical of the board for giving MCPS Superintendent Alex Apostle a nearly $15,000 raise and a new contract with expanded benefits. The message also singled out the man's wife, a retired MCPS schoolteacher."Another quote from the article states:
It ends: "I will miss the work and the people. For me, it has always been about helping the students and our public schools (be) the very best they can be."missoula school watchdog - If Pickhardt really wanted to help students "be the very best they can be" then why did she vote to lease Prescott School to Missoula International School, a private school? Public school children are forced out of their neighborhoods in the Rattlesnake Valley. In the meantime Missoula International School is flourishing in one of Missoulians favorite public schools.
HIstory of who served and when on the MCPS Board of Trustees - missoula school watchdog sharing Missouian posts of past Trustee election information
missoula school watchdog is researching past school board elections. And the many blog posts just added to the blog reflect this study!
msw hopes that people will be interested in some of the election information although some is a little dated.
msw is interested in who has been making our school decisions and in what year did these decision-makers serve.
Happy clicking!
MCPS superintendent raise: Do not re-elect school board - August 5, 2010 Letter to the editor of the Missoulian
MCPS superintendent raise: Do not re-elect school board
Click on the link above to read a letter to the Missoulian regarding MCPS salaries.
Louise Jones' letter to the editor addresses the 20% raise to Superintendent Apostle in 2010.
A quote from the letter states:
Louise speaks for many Missoulians who were also outraged about the raise given to Superintendent Apostle in January of 2013.
The Trustees that voted for the raise in 2013 were -
Debbie Dupree, Shelly Wills, Marcia Holland, Joseph Knapp, Drake Lemm, and James Sadler and Toni Rehbein. (Was Scott Todd on the Board?)
This list is not complete - need to work on it. Note - Scott Bixler and Joe Toth are not on the 2013 list.
Adam Duerk did not vote on the superintendent raise in 2013 as he had resigned before the vote or was in the process of resigning. This means that only six elementary trustees voted - if they were all present.
If Bixler and Toth did not vote for the 2013 raise for Apostle it would have been the FIRST time that they hadn't (quite sure on this).
Click on the link above to read a letter to the Missoulian regarding MCPS salaries.
Louise Jones' letter to the editor addresses the 20% raise to Superintendent Apostle in 2010.
A quote from the letter states:
"These are the folks who unanimously supported the 20 percent raise (includingRight on Louise!benefits ) of Alex Apostle:Scott Bixler, Adam Duerk, Debbie Dupree, Shelly Wills, Marcia Holland, Joseph Knapp, Drake Lemm, Nancy Pickhardt, Toni Rehbein, James Sadler and Joe Toth."
Louise speaks for many Missoulians who were also outraged about the raise given to Superintendent Apostle in January of 2013.
The Trustees that voted for the raise in 2013 were -
Debbie Dupree, Shelly Wills, Marcia Holland, Joseph Knapp, Drake Lemm, and James Sadler and Toni Rehbein. (Was Scott Todd on the Board?)
This list is not complete - need to work on it. Note - Scott Bixler and Joe Toth are not on the 2013 list.
Adam Duerk did not vote on the superintendent raise in 2013 as he had resigned before the vote or was in the process of resigning. This means that only six elementary trustees voted - if they were all present.
If Bixler and Toth did not vote for the 2013 raise for Apostle it would have been the FIRST time that they hadn't (quite sure on this).
MCPS board to review 10 trustee applicants from the March 5, 2009 MIssoulian
MCPS board to review 10 trustee applicantsPosted on March 5
Click on the link above to read a Missoulian article from March 5, 2009.
10 people interviewed to replace the Board position open after the resignation of Jenda Hemphill in January of 2009.
Click on the link above to read a Missoulian article from March 5, 2009.
10 people interviewed to replace the Board position open after the resignation of Jenda Hemphill in January of 2009.
Hemphill leaves MCPS Board of Trustees citing health reasons - MIssoulian article published on February 3, 2009
Hemphill leaves MCPS Board of Trustees citing health reasons
Missoula School Watchdog is working on a list of Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees throughout the past few years.
And it is becoming quite a chore, especially if one has lost track.
It becomes more of a task as several Trustees have resigned. About nine or so Trustees have resigned in the past 10 years.
msw wished good health to former MCPS Trustee Jenda Hemphill.
It is my understanding that Joseph Knapp was appointed to fill out Jenda's term which expired in May of 2009.
Missoula School Watchdog is working on a list of Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees throughout the past few years.
And it is becoming quite a chore, especially if one has lost track.
It becomes more of a task as several Trustees have resigned. About nine or so Trustees have resigned in the past 10 years.
msw wished good health to former MCPS Trustee Jenda Hemphill.
It is my understanding that Joseph Knapp was appointed to fill out Jenda's term which expired in May of 2009.
What I have learned in 6 weeks on the MCPS school board - Missoulian guest column from the April 21, 2013 edition
What I have learned in 6 weeks on the MCPS school board
Click on the link above to read a guest column by Scott Todd.
Click on the link above to read a guest column by Scott Todd.
MCPS Board of Trustees candidate Wade withdraws from race - Missoulian clip - 2014
MCPS Board of Trustees candidate Wade withdraws from race
Click on the link above to read a clip from the Missoulian on candidate Jack Wade withdrawing from the school board race in 2014.
Click on the link above to read a clip from the Missoulian on candidate Jack Wade withdrawing from the school board race in 2014.
High School graduation rates: Stress skills and knowledge - a Larry Foust letter to the MIssoulian on January 27, 2013
High School graduation rates: Stress skills and knowledge
Click on the link above to read a letter to the editor on education by Larry Foust.
Click on the link above to read a letter to the editor on education by Larry Foust.
Monday, September 8, 2014
KGVO Talk Back Program - Fall 2015 levy will be bigger than expected!!
Today, September 8, 2014, I was listening to KGVO's Talk Back program, ("Western Montana's only live interactive talk show"- the hosts words). The co-hosts for this program are long-time radio announcer Peter Christian and Jon King, the producer of the show.
Jon and Peter were discussing the costs of the city's eminent domain lawsuit. The mayor of the city decided several month's ago to attempt to gain ownership of Missoula's water system by using eminent domain. The city estimated the cost of this process to be about $500,000. It is now estimated to be higher than that a cost of about $1,000,000!
So - Peter spoke about his conversation with Hatton Littman regarding the increase in leveling (sending children from their neighborhood school to another school which is not so crowded.)
Peter also mentioned that Littman said that the BOND PLANNED TO GO BEFORE THE VOTERS NEXT FALL WILL BE BIGGER THAN FIRST THOUGHT!!
Oh, to hold those people accountable that closed our schools in 2004, sold a school (to a private school) in 2005, and leased schools (to a private school and a college). What a lot of money they would need to pay us taxpayers for their needless and expensive actions.
These school officials DID NOT HEED DR. LARRY SWANSON'S ADVISE IN 2004-2005 REGARDING THE UPCOMING INCREASE IN SCHOOL ENROLLMENT DUE TO THE BABY BOOMERS GRANDCHILDREN ENTERING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Jon and Peter were discussing the costs of the city's eminent domain lawsuit. The mayor of the city decided several month's ago to attempt to gain ownership of Missoula's water system by using eminent domain. The city estimated the cost of this process to be about $500,000. It is now estimated to be higher than that a cost of about $1,000,000!
So - Peter spoke about his conversation with Hatton Littman regarding the increase in leveling (sending children from their neighborhood school to another school which is not so crowded.)
Peter also mentioned that Littman said that the BOND PLANNED TO GO BEFORE THE VOTERS NEXT FALL WILL BE BIGGER THAN FIRST THOUGHT!!
Oh, to hold those people accountable that closed our schools in 2004, sold a school (to a private school) in 2005, and leased schools (to a private school and a college). What a lot of money they would need to pay us taxpayers for their needless and expensive actions.
These school officials DID NOT HEED DR. LARRY SWANSON'S ADVISE IN 2004-2005 REGARDING THE UPCOMING INCREASE IN SCHOOL ENROLLMENT DUE TO THE BABY BOOMERS GRANDCHILDREN ENTERING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
MCPS officials meet to determine future of suspended Sentinel principal, assistant principal
MCPS officials meet to determine future of suspended Sentinel principal, assistant principal
Click on the link above to read a Missoulian article from September 3, 2014.
Click on the link above to read a Missoulian article from September 3, 2014.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Watchdog embarrasses city: Missoula resident serves public better than public servants who kept community in dark on contract- Missoulian editorial published in the June 27th, 2012 edition
Thanks to Ross Best for looking out for us Missoula citizens when it comes to our city government. Ross has looked out for us Missoulians in many cases and deserves our gratitude.
Click on the link below to read the Missoulian editorial:
Watchdog embarrasses city: Missoula resident serves public better than public servants who kept community in dark on contract
Click on the link below to read the Missoulian editorial:
Watchdog embarrasses city: Missoula resident serves public better than public servants who kept community in dark on contract
missoula schools watchdog: Missoula County Public Schools Trustee Jim Sadler
missoula schools watchdog: Missoula County Public Schools Trustee Jim Sadler: During the many years of Jim Sadler's service on the MCPS Board there have been several heartbreaking and unnecessary decisions that hav...
Campaign against Missoula school trustees illegal; state may investigate
Read a Missoulian article written by the late Betsy Cohen published on March 22, 2013 reporting on an ad submitted to the Missoulian newspaper regarding the upcoming MCPS school board election.
Campaign against Missoula school trustees illegal; state may investigate
Campaign against Missoula school trustees illegal; state may investigate
Monday, April 7, 2014
How to create contact groups in Outlook
Watch a video on how to create contact groups in Outlook.
After you have it down zip off an email to your favorite and un- favorite Missoula County Public Schools school board members and don't forget to include the very popular (just kidding) superintendent Alex Apostle.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Missoula traffic study: College planned for wrong area - April 12, 2014 Missoulian letter to the editor
Click on the link below to read a letter to the Missoulian regarding the location of the
Missoula College on East Broadway.
In the opinion of missoula school watchdog, David Werner, the writer of the opinion, is
RIGHT ON!!! East Broadway is NOT a good location for Missoula College. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!!
The E. Broadway location needs to be used for dorms for student housing. The Rattlesnake Valley is being used for student housing now and is causing huge problems for our city. The university area also is housing too many students as are other areas of Missoula.
David Werner as revealed in his many letters to the editor and in his on line comments has always made the most sense regarding this issue. The superior location for Missoula College is the Fort Missoula UM property.
Missoula traffic study: College planned for wrong area
Missoula College on East Broadway.
In the opinion of missoula school watchdog, David Werner, the writer of the opinion, is
RIGHT ON!!! East Broadway is NOT a good location for Missoula College. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!!
The E. Broadway location needs to be used for dorms for student housing. The Rattlesnake Valley is being used for student housing now and is causing huge problems for our city. The university area also is housing too many students as are other areas of Missoula.
David Werner as revealed in his many letters to the editor and in his on line comments has always made the most sense regarding this issue. The superior location for Missoula College is the Fort Missoula UM property.
Missoula traffic study: College planned for wrong area
Monday, March 31, 2014
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