If one had gone to some of Missoula County Public Schools Board or Committee meetings in the past decade you would have heard quite often the notion that our "neighborhoods are hollowing out". This was a favorite saying especially by the MCPS high school Trustee Jim Sadler. (Missoulians can be grateful that Sadler was defeated in the latest school board election after serving 20 years on the school Board.)
The notion that our neighborhoods were hollowing out never had merit. Why do I say that with such confidence?
In 2004, I attended a High School Futures Meeting. This forum was hosted by MCPS administrator Cheryl Wilson (a most unpleasant woman!). Wilson invited Dr. Larry Swanson to speak on Missoula demographics in order to give the people on her appointed group an update on what was going on in Missoula's neighborhoods.
Surprise, surprise. What Wilson and other administrators that aligned with the notion that our neighborhoods were "hollowing out" found out from Swanson's presentation is that our neighborhoods were "transitioning from a retiree generation to what Swanson named the "echo echo" generation, that of the baby boomers grandchildren who were in the process of marrying and starting a family.
As a family that has been tossing the papers in the Rattlesnake area, in the lower Rattlesnake and in Lincolnwood for the past 15 years we have had a unique close up look at the transitioning of this neighborhood which Swanson states is taking place throughout Missoula.
This is what we have observed. We got to know who lived in the homes on our paper route due to correspondence by the Missoulian or the customers themselves. Therefore, we noticed when one of our older customers died or moved to a retirement setting. And in more cases than not, a young family would move in.
We began to notice that when an older resident left his/her home that swing sets would now appear. That little bicycles would be int he yard along with the children's balls and other toys. This a testament to Swanson's predictions. As Swanson said - he did not have an agenda, he had the statistics and then simply presented the information, at first for free, and later in a report commissioned by the school district costing about $1,000 (not sure on this amount).
Take it from a 15 year Missoulian paper carrier who has seen up close and personal the changes in a couple of our neighborhoods - our neighborhoods are transitioning from a retirees to young families with children, bikes, swing sets, balls and all.
FYI - To support the idea that some unpopular Trustees and administrators did not like the ideas brought forth by Dr. Swanson, read the following -
In one of the later High School Future Meetings a citizen requested that Dr. Swanson be asked to return for another presentation or an update on the information given in his earlier talk.
MCPS administrator Cheryl Wilson stated, "NO, WE DIDN'T GET WHAT WE WANTED OUT OF THAT ANYWAY."
Shockingly, Wilson was willing to ignore the valid statistics from Dr. Swanson. With this unbelievable statement and the dismissing of such important information to our city Wilson displayed another breach of trust in our school district. Wilson, former Superintendent Clark, and Trustees such as Sadler, Rosemary Harrison, Jenda Hemphill, Joe Toth, Scott Bixler, Toni Rehbein have swindled Misoulians in this abrocation of duties of heeding a professional demographer.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
MCPS News - "The Elephant in the Room" - the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School since 2004
The elephant in the room.
msw had not attended that may meetings prior to 2004. Well, I take that back. I did attend quite a lot of meetings regarding another issue facing the Rattlesnake in that year, namely the sewer expansion, another drastic change for Rattlesnake residents with a big price tag, and some meetings regarding the closure of Prescott in 2001 and 2003.msw had just not heard the phrase "the elephant in the room". Nor did msw understand completely what it meant. (As a side note - my little granddaughter has the cutest softest and very big stuffed elephant in her room.) The phrase, "elephant in the room" just had not reached my ears up to that point.
Now, however, I do hear it quite often and it always brings me back to the High School Futures Meeting in which Cheryl Wilson addressed the "Elephant in the Room" issue at that time. That of closing Hellgate High School. It is my recollection that Wilson never did say the "Hellgate" and "close" in the same sentence. You see, many times MCPS officials like to keep that type of stuff, the stuff we citizens should know about, a secret as long as possible and then they pounce revealing the bombshell plans all at once leaving the public with little time to react and to go against the administration.
To get back to "the elephant in the room". It basically means, as I understand it, an issue is so big that it is impossible to ignore anymore.
So - what is the "elephant in the room" at this time (and has been for more than 10 years) for Missoula County Public School?
For me, msw, it is the lease of Prescott School to the private, thus competing, school, Missoula International School.
In 2004, MCPS, unloaded a bombshell, (see above) on the north side of Missoula in addition to East Missoula. It announced that the school district planned to close three schools: Rattlesnake Middle School, Prescott School in the Rattlesnake Valley and Mt. Jumbo School in East Missoula. Citizens were reeling from the news stunned at the suddenness of such a radical and drastic change for schools which their children and neighbors attended and had attended for many years. The decision did not make sense, it caused deep pain for both children and adults, harming our north side neighborhoods.
After these ill-thought- out decisions, another deeply troubling and devastating decision was made, that of leasing the closed Prescott School to the private Spanish-immersion school, Missoula International School.
This lease could essentially be called a "Buddy Lease". Why? Because newly elected in 2004 Trustee Toni Rehbein was shortly before her election the president of Missoula International School When one reads the minutes of the May 2004 MCPS Board Meeting one will see the many statements made by Rehbein advocating for the lease of Prescott to MIS. See appropriate posts on the www.prescottschoolmissoula.blogspot.com website to read her comments and others as well.
Not only did Rehbein advocate for the Prescott School/MIS lease at her first MCPS Board meeting serving as a Trustee but also at many other MCPS meetings. She voted for the appraisal of Prescott in 2008. Rehbein actually asked, violating meeting protocol, members of MIS in the audience at a MCPS meeting if MIS would be interested in a lease with an option to buy! WOW!
As one will also read on many blog posts on the blog the lease is costing Missoula taxpayers millions due to state funding as a result of many MCPS students attending MIS from the district. An estimate by a math professor is $500,00 per year!
The use of Prescott by MIS has caused the district to build an expensive modular ($250.000) at Rattlesnake School. (Lots of shenanigans in that decision!)
Yes, this issue, the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School is absolutely the "elephant in the room" for Missoula County Public Schools.
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