This is a Missoula girl talking. In fact, this is a Cold Springs School girl talking. Having grown up in Missoula and having attended Cold Springs I know that to close Cold Springs would be so egregious as to border on criminal.
For Missoula County Public Schools to close the original Cold Springs School would be so unfair to the families, property owners, and children in the surrounding area of the school.
For me to have to say the "original Cold Springs School" is ridiculous in the first place. The MCPS school district in the bond plans of 2015 stated that a new Cold Springs School would be built in the Miller Creek area - thinking that the Miller Creek area was even remotely close to the present location of Cold Springs School. This, in my opinion, was to give a reason to build a new school and get rid of a school at the same time thinking voters would not want to vote on a new school while at the same time keeping another school open. This makes no sense unless one is aware of the politics of the whole idea of building a new school.
In 2004, our family experienced a tragedy brought on by nefarious officials of the Missoula school district with superintendent James Clark and Board Chair Rosemary Harrison at the helm.
Three schools in the northeast area of our city were closed - Rattlesnake Middle, Prescott, and Mount Jumbo schools.
Due to this action, I followed the school district quite closely in subsequent months/years.
Right after another action by Missoula school officials, the sale of the closed Roosevelt School, school officials spoke openly (closed discussions behind the scenes prior to this) about building a school in the Miller Creek area. In some discussions, a school board Trustee, Drake Lemm, voiced is strong desire to build this school.
Something very important to keep in mind and what I think is key to the proposed building of a Miller Creek School is that Lemm has property in the area. In fact, Drake Lemm is a contractor and has built (is building) a subdivision on a street named DJ Lane. Could the proposed new school and the closure of Cold Springs really be due to a school board member having a strong desire to have a school near his subdivision? My answer is yes, and most definitely yes.
Drake Lemm was not a conscientious school board member. One of the main reasons he likely ran for the MCPS seat was for his selfish needs. Lemm always voted or voiced his opinions on elementary property decisions (not having voting powers for elementary decisions as he was a high school Trustee) to close or sell an elementary building.
Again, the Missoula school officials need to keep Cold Springs School open. Already, I have heard that the new Miller Creek School is full and another school is being discussed to be built in this area. To keep Cold Springs open the new school would not be so crowded to begin it's debue.
By the way, the new school, when the bond was proposed, was to be named Cold Springs as discussed above. After the bond was passed, voila, a proposal to rename the proposed new Cold Springs School, was brought forward to the public and was renamed the Jeanette Rankin School.
In closing, just to remind people about the nefarious Trustee Drake Lemm - he built an addition to superintendent Clark's garage while on the Board. This action did not sit well with some Trustees and therefore he was turned into the County Attorney, who also nefariously let him off the hook. Google Drake Lemm and Superintendent Clark or the words - "school board shenanigans" along with the two names to read about this slippery action.
Showing posts with label 2004 school closures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2004 school closures. Show all posts
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Thursday, October 24, 2013
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
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
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