Veteran teacher returns from retirement to help at Rattlesnake Elementary

Click on the link below to read a Missoulian article reporting on a para-educator at Rattlesnake School.

The date of the article is October 24, 2013.

A little history is required here to understand why Mr. Christensen is working at an elementary school at Rattlesnake School rather than a middle school which was housed in this building prior to 2004, Rattlesnake Middle School.

The district stunned Rattlesnake Valley residents when on February 5th, 2004, they announced that they planned to close four schools on the north side of our city, Prescott School and Rattlesnake Midde School in the Rattlesnake Valley, Mt. Jumbo School in East Missoula,and

Notice that Mr. Christensen mentions his wife Cindy.

Cindy Christensen was the former principal at Prescott School located in the lower Rattlesnake on Harrison Street. In a 2004 Missoulian article during the closures of Prescott School and two other schools, the Missoulian reported that Principal Cindy Christensen said that Prescott School had "diminished energy" and pleaded with the Board to close the school.

As a parent of a child during this time I know that the school was beloved and the only diminished energy that Cindy would have experienced would have come from her own attitude toward Prescott.

If former principal Cindy Christensen had voiced her support for Prescott School in 2004 perhaps Prescott would still be open today. Cindy, along with other principals, went along with disreputable Trustees and administrators, and advocated for the closure of THREE northeast schools, Prescott, Mt. Jumbo School, and Rattlesnake Middle School.

All of our northeast middle school students since this tragic decision are bused to other middle schools on the southern side of our city. These middle schools, Washington Middle School and C.S Porter Middle School were crowded in 2004 and are now more crowded.

The process in 2004 was irresponsible as it was rushed in a 48 day time span.

Now Cindy's husband is working at a school for which she had a part in closing (Rattlesnake Middle School) and opening (Rattlesnake Elementary).

Had Cindy did her own research into the demographics of the city (showing increased enrollment in the near future) and the value of neighborhood and small schools she would have served Missoula's children, her school, and Missoula taxpayers in a responsible and loyal manner.

In the complaint document of a lawsuit filed shortly after the closures based on violations of open meetings law,  it was revealed that Cindy Christensen was the ONLY person that was allowed by Board Chairwoman Rosemary Harrison to make a public comment BEFORE the closure decision.  It was reported in the Missoulian article that Cindy was emotional - others said she was in tears.  In other words, she stooped so low as to cry to make sure her opinion was heard (was this planned before the beginning of the meeting?)


Additionally the Rattlesnake School building is overcrowded and has been for a long time. The Missoulian reported in an article a couple of years ago that enrollment at Rattlesnake School had increased by 100 students from the beginning of Principal Seidensticker's employment as a principal at the school. 

Just after the lease was extended to Missoula International School of Prescott School by the vote of four disloyal Trustees in 2011, the district sent notes home to Rattlesnake School parents letting them know that some students would be bused to Paxson. Instead of busing, however, the district built an expensive modular in the summer of 2012. This was to help alleviate the need for para-educators.

As we see in this article the district still needs paras, thus the hiring of Mr. Christensen. 

The district needed to open Prescott School before building a modular to start the process of mediating the disaster brought about by the 2004 school closures.

 Just a little FYI - in a phone call to Principal Seidensticker after reading a February Missoulian article reporting on sending Rattlesnake School students he informed a citizen that he was told that Mt. Jumbo and Prescott were not to be part of the conversation in dealing with the overcrowding of Rattlesnake School. When asked who this person was, Seidensticker refused to name names.

Veteran teacher returns from retirement to help at Rattlesnake Elementary