Comments regarding a former MCPS Board Trustee Drake Lemm - Was he unethical while serving on the Board?

Many mornings I listen to the radio - turning the dial to KGVO's Talk Back show. A frequent guest is Missoula County Public Schools superintendent Mark Thane. I appreciate the local topics.

On the morning of May 23, 2018, I called in and made a comment regarding the closing of Cold Springs School, a nice school I attended when a young child growing up in Missoula in the '60's. I strongly believe that Cold Springs School needs to remain open. The school district will say it needs a lot of maintenance. Yes, it does, why? The district mismanaged funds to fix schools.

I happened to mention that I believed (and witnessed) the part played by former MCPS Trustee in the building of a new school up Miller Creek in the Maloney Ranch subdivision area. The idea of building a new school was coupled with the closing of Cold Springs School. (In fact, and I believe it was a nefarious move, the new school was at the time of the bond named Cold Springs School and then after the bond was renamed the Jeanette Rankin School. I mentioned that his role was in looking after his property, DJ Lane, near where the new school, renamed the Jeanette Rankin School.

Here is my FB on the TB (Talk Back) FB page comment following my on-air comment.

  " OK - I just called into KGVO’s Talk Back program when MCPS superintendent Mark Thane was a guest. My comment centered on the Cold Springs and Jeanette Rankin School fiasco. Now, as usual, I must give my 2 cents about what Thane said as I hung up after my remarks. Re: Is Drake Lemm really an honest man and could he be involved in shenanigans on the MCPS School Board. Yes. People that followed the school board when he served know that he was not an upstanding citizen - sorry, he just wasn't, at least not when he was on the school board. If one attended meetings when he was on the Board you would have heard his comments - many in favor of closing elementary area schools even though he was a HS Trustee. Then in many meetings, like I said on air, Lemm advocated for a school up Miller Creek. If one finds his property, DJ Lane, and then follows where the new school is built how could one not think that it would be a possibility that Lemm would be behind this closure/new school fiasco? It is common knowledge that a public school in a neighborhood increases property values Jon, a nice guy and one of the hosts of Talk Back wondered on air where I was going with this comment and did not finish reading it - I was going with the truth. This school district is in the straights it is in because too many people won't really say what is going on. Am I supposed to forget everything I saw when I suffered going to those God-awful MCPS meetings and then just go along with people that say Lemm is an ethical person when I witnessed otherwise? Wouldn't I feel like a traitor to myself?'

         

The original Cold Springs School needs to stay open - not busing kids from the area to MIller Creek School

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.

"Move over Emma, here I come. You've had your turn, now it's my turn when naming MCPS schools!" Jeanette Rankin

As I've mentioned, Emma Dickinson School has been closed for many years now. Immediately after the closure and most likely the reason it was closed, it became the building for adult learning classes. Over the years this building being used for adults - not for the area's children as was the purpose for building the school in the first place - the school district has expanded it's classes (and its administration BTW). Do people know that the adult learning center now  has TWO administrators making approximately $80,000/year plus benefits - probably more now!!

So - now the name of Emma Dickinson has been taken off the school building.  No more Emma Dickinson School. I saw a flyer calling it the Dickinson Building. This is so corrupt.

So where does Jeanette Rankin come in. The school district is now building a NEW school up Miller Creek which was called Cold Springs school, which is a school which has been closed.

The district decided to open up bids for a new name for the school in the past few months. Some children decided that a good name for the new school up Miller Creek would be the Jeanette Rankin School. (After the first woman in the Congress and who voted against getting into the Second World War.

So, again, move over Emma. MCPS does not value you or your school. Now they are on to someone new for awhile

NOTE: If you would like to know exactly how a school was approved to be built up Miller Creek soon after the district sold Roosevelt School in 2005 just ask former MCPS Board members, Rosemary Harrison and Drake Lemm and other Trustees. And you could also ask former MCPS superintendent James Clark. All of these people could fill you in on the corruption they were causing during all their property meetings (and behind the scenes, of course).

UPDATED: MCPS considers 4 sites for new Cold Springs school - MIssoulian article from August 31, 2015

Click on the link below to read an article on new locations for Cold Springs School.

UPDATED: MCPS considers 4 sites for new Cold Springs school

  missoula school watchdog blog is calling foul on this ill-thought out idea by illogical school officials.

The idea that this school district will close Cold Springs and build a new school with the same name is absolutely criminal!

 

As a long-time observer of MCPS business and a victim of the 2004 school closures, it is my opinion that this corrupt idea of closing Cold Springs and building a new school in the Miller Creek area is the brainstorm of a long-time unpopular MCPS Trustee, Drake Lemm and other cronies such as Rosemary Harrison. At a September 2005(!) Finance and Operations Facility Meeting - with the ink barely dry on the Roosevelt School sale to St. Josephs School papers - Lemm brought up the closing of Cold Springs and the building of a new school close to his properties. (Note: Lemm built a subdivision in the Miller Creek area.)