Jacobs Decision- Outcome of a Complaint to the Commissioner of Political Practices

This post deals with a complaint by former MCPS Trustee Rosemary Harrison against Teresa Jacobs filed before the Commissioner of Political Practices in 2006. (The date of the decision lists December 15th, 2006.) 

According to the document msw recently found online it states, "Rosemary Harrison filed a complaint alleging that Teresa Jacobs and her campaign violated Montana campaign finance laws."

Another sentence in the "SUMMARY OF FACTS" section of the document reads, "Prior to the election Jacobs and her campaign created and distributed a campaign flyer that contained certain representations concerning Harrison. The flyer contained two sections with representations about which Harrison complains..."

Two areas of finance laws which the complaint addresses are Failed Leadership and Questionable Treatment of the Public. 

This complaint was thoroughly investigated as one can see by reading the document.  msw encourages citizens to open the link to the document and read for themselves the evidence which Teresa Jacobs submitted in defense of the material that was printed in the flyer.  It gives readers an insight into aspects of the 2004 school closures.

As the "Jacobs Decision" is a 10 page document, msw will print a small interesting section of the complaint.  It appears on page 3 and is listed as #9. 

 "Colleen Rogers was a MCPS Board trustee from 2001 to 2004. On several occasions between October, 2003 and February, 2004, Rogers emailed Elizabeth Kaleva with questions regarding proper notice and agenda preparation and distribution for MCPS Board meetings. In an email dated November 4, 2003, Kaleva responded to one of Rogers’ questions by stating: “. . . All meetings, whether they be regular, special,
committee or subcommittee, need to be noticed like a regular meeting and have an
agenda. They also need to have minutes.” Trustee Rogers forwarded copies of her questions and Kaleva’s response to Harrison and to other MCPS Board Trustees. Thereafter Rogers continued to email Kaleva with questions and concerns, but she did not cc MCPS Board Chairperson Harrison or other MCPS Board trustees on those subsequent emails."

What is most interesting  in the above paragragh to msw is that the attorney for the school district recommended, "All meetings, whether they be regular, special, committee or subcommittee, need to be noticed like a regular meeting and have an agenda." 

MCPS is not giving notice nor keeping minutes at this time for many of it's meetings; the regional director meetings, are an example!!

In conclusion, the last sentence in the document states, "Based on the preceding Summary of Facts and Statement of Findings there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Teresa Jacobs and her campaign violated Montana campaign finance and practices laws."

Jacobs decision

Rattlesnake School Enrollment for 2004-05 through 2010-11 school years

Rattlesnake School Enrollment

        For 2004-05 through 2010-11

	’04-‘05	’05-‘06	’06-‘07	’07-‘08	’08-‘09	‘09-‘10	’10-‘11
Kind	43	55	55	58	62	78	65
1st	60	49	55	62	59	68	84
2nd	52	58	52	53	63	59	66
3rd	63	55	60	54	58	69	63
4th	55	62	52	65	55	60	64
5th	65	50	63	53	62	55	57

Totals

’04-’05           338

’05-’06           329

’06-’07           337

’07-’08           345

’08-’09           359

’09-’10           389

’10-’11           399

There is a difference of 61 children from 2004-05 school year to the 2010-11 school year.  This chart needs to be updated to include the 2011-12 school year.  The enrollment information is from the Missoula County Superintendent of Schools office located on Pine Street in Missoula. 

Drafted in 2011 for missoulaschoolswatchdog and prescottschoolmissoula 

Common Core Standards - are they in the best interests of our children?

What are Common Core Standards and are they in the best interests of children when it comes to their education? 

Tonight while we were watching a NBA playoff game (OKC vs. Lakers) an Exxon commercial was broadcast toting the Common Core Standards. A map showed the approximately 45 states which were adopting the Common Core Standards.  msw decided to use Google and found quite a bit of information on Common Core Standards.

A document which I found interesting mentioning the Common Core Standards is on the American Freedom Watch Radio site. Below is a link to the document. If mscw is not mistaken OPI in Helena has adopted these standards which means that all Montana schools must also adopt them.  msw is not sure on this, however, msw does remember a regional director, I believe Mark Thane, speak about them recently at a Missoula County Public Schools Board Meeting.

Here is a link to the document.

 americanfreedomwatchradio.com/?page_id=224


There are many other articles on Common Core Standards one can read about on the Internet.  It appears that there is a political slant to these standards  (being connected to Agenda 21, thus the UN) and that they may not include everything our children need to learn.  (edited 5-30-12)

MCPS spending thousands on modular only months after extending the lease of Prescott School to Missoula International School!!

missoula schools watchdog (msw) drove by Rattlesnake School today and observed that a fence surrounded the area where a modular is soon to be placed on the playground of the school.  Msw was quite upset at seeing the school district take this unnecessary step in facility management and considers it a continuation of the 2004 school closure scandal and 2004 private school lease and extension scandal.

msw has voiced it's opinion against placing a modular at Rattlesnake School in district meetings as there were other less costly ways to manage the overcrowding of the school. The preferable and least costly in the long run manner to handle the overcrowding at Rattlesnake School would have been to reopen Prescott School. 

Just seven months prior to the modular decision MCPS officials extended the lease of Prescott School to the private school, Missoula International School for an additional 5 years!  Prescott School is just down the road about a mile from Rattlesnake School. MCPS officials were aware that the Prescott School/MIS lease was estimated to have cost the district $500,000 just last year per a UM math professor and that an extension would continue the massive loses to the district.  

MCPS officials also knew prior to extending the lease that Rattlesnake School was at capacity or close to it.  This fact was brought up by a citizen during public comment during the lease extension discussions.  Moreover, in recent meetings the principal of Rattlesnake School stated that the school had been at capacity for the last three years.  School officials must have known this prior to extending the lease of Prescott School and if they didn't they reneged on their responsibility to keep track of enrollment and capacity issues.

msw suggested at a few meetings that the continuation of the employment of paraeducators would be preferable and less costly than busing more Rattlesnake area students out of the area.  Since 2004 middle school children living in the Rattlesnake Valley and East Missoula are bused to Washington Middle School.  To bus more of the valley’s children out of the Rattlesnake would have been extremely unfair.  msw suggested that paraeducators could be employed, as they had been doing, until the lease of Prescott School by Missoula International School expired in 2017. 

Additionally, and most importantly, the building of a MODULAR IS ONLY A STOP GAP MEASURE. The school district is ignoring the fact that the elementary school enrollment will continue to increase in the next few years; this information was supplied by an economist in a study commissioned by the district.  As an example of another stop gap measure, the district spent a half million dollars on an addition to Lewis and Clark School approximately four years ago and next year Lewis and Clark is sending a kindergarten class to Paxson School due to overcrowding.  What needs to be done in mwd’’s opinion is to OPEN MORE OF OUR UNUSED PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS, beginning with Prescott School.

May 16th Missoulain article, "Texbooks, janitors, jobs could be cut in Missoula County Public Schools budget "

"Textbooks, janitors, jobs could be cut in Missoula County Public Schools budget" is the name of the Missoulian article in the May 16th, 2012 edition. Read about the recent proposed cuts by the school district.  Many people who posted comments on the Missoulian comment section connected to this article are not in agreement with the cuts.  Most say that the district is top heavy and that janitors and teachers are to be respected for their important work in the district.  missoulaschoolswatchdog agrees.

Click on the share link below for the article.

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Missoula County Public Schools Needs to Reduce Technology in the Cllassroom

The Missoulian reported today, May 16, 2012,  on proposed cuts to the budget for Missoula County Public Schools.  The title of the article is, "Textbooks, janitors, jobs could be cut in Missoula County Public Schools Budget".  There were many great comments with which missoulaschoolswatchdog agreed.  The current MCPS Board and Superintendent Apostle seem to be going forward with adding mega amounts of technology in Missoula's schools, both the elementary and high schools. Below is a letter addressing the down side of using technology in education.

·  David1said on: May 16, 2012, 1:43 pm (Comment from Missoulian online)

You know, folks, you're all refusing to recognize the elephant in the room: educational technology. Educational technology (ET), beginning with filmstrips, tape cassettes, films, etc., was supposed to be the answer to the educational problems back in the 1960s. Then, Apple introduced its machines. Ole! Computers were supposed to eliminate the dropout problem and increase educational outcomes.

Hello! Here we are about 50 years later, singing the same song, spending more money on technology, but cutting teachers, janitors, and clerical staff.

The problem of public education is not the number of teachers, janitors, and other staff. The problem has been there is TOO MUCH TECHNOLOGY and NOT ENOUGH teachers, flesh & blood people to work with kids, ideally one on one.

I would not be saying this if educational technology HAD increased learning and student retention. IT HAS NOT. Why are we still, 50 years or so after the advent of ET, lamenting dropouts and less learning than countries far less able to provide electronic learning to their students?

My point? NOTHING HAS CHANGED, despite the $millions & $billions spent on ET. We are where we were 50 years ago. ET has its place, but it's not in our public schools. It's fine to train our military or for online universities. It is not fine for elementary and even HS kids.

You can't argue with me on this. ET has not, is not, and will NEVER DO ONE SINGLE THING to lower the dropout rate or improve learning, at least for the 80% of students. IT HASN'T DONE IT FOR THE PAST 50 YEARS! ET is good for special ed. & for the talented & gifted. ET is good for media centers; but, guess what? Those positions are on the block in MCPS.

"Educational" technology has been the single biggest scam on the American public in history. MCPS should look at reducing, if not eliminating, its budget for ET, and devote that money for more flesh & blood teachers. MCPS does not need the machines and the staff that supports them.

"Oh," you say, "what about learning to use computers for the job?" Hey, kids are beyond that. That's immaterial to the stuff they REALLY need to know to become good citizens. Kids have their cell phones, iPads, etc. They're savvy to that. What they need is eye-ball to eye-ball contact with a live, caring adult about a math, history, science, whatever problem in the classroom.

Just get rid of the machines, cut a huge part of the budget, and you may be able to hire real people to teach and help real kids.

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 have negatively affected so many Missoula children's lives. A few of the sad events in recent years are: school closures, a school sale, leases of our public schools to private schools, and references of closing Hellgate High and of selling other elementary schools.  During discussions on many of these issues Jim Sadler voiced his support even though most were elementary school issues and he is a high school trustee.  In addition, Trustee Sadler wrote a letter recommending the razing of the historic old Roosevelt School on 6th Street to make room for a parking lot for Hellgate students.

missoulaschoolswatchdog believes that there has been enough tragedy and sadness due to the erosion of our neighborhood school infrastructure mentioned above.  Missoula needs trustees that will protect our valuable and beloved schools which are our children's birthright and part of Missoula's heritage.

One reason for the creation of missoulaschoolswatchdog is to share information which can provide citizens with insight into the backgrounds and character of MCPS Trustees. Resumes mean something in life. Citizens need to know if the people for which they vote are ethically inclined. The information above will shed light on on a slice of the past in Jim Sadler's life. After reading this information, citizens will decide for themselves if this matters to them as they vote for Trustees to represent the school district. Ideally, the information below would have been posted at an earlier date so that citizens would have access to it before casting their votes for the school board positions. For a variety of reasons this was not able to be accomplished.
_________________________________________________________________________________

The following quotes are from an article in the June 13^th, 1984 Missoulian regarding long-time Missoula County Public Schools High School Trustee Jim Sadler.  The title of the article is:

Former Missoula lawyer faces five theft charges

"Former lawyer James Sadler of Missoula was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with stealing almost $80,000 of his client’s money." 

and -
"The five count charge filed in District court Tuesday by Deputy County Attorney Ed McLean accuses Sadler of taking money from clients in real estate deals and in his role as manager of an estate."

"The counts range from $58,900 allegedly stolen in a real-estate deal to a $12,000 banking transaction, to “more than $300” from Sadler’s guardianship of an elderly man."

and -
"The thefts allegedly occurred between 1976 and 1982."

and -
"Sadler,.... voluntarily surrendered this license to practice law last year when unspecified charges were brought before the Montana Bar Association."

and -
 " The defendant’s lawyer, Thomas Frizzell of Missoula, declined comment on the case. "

According to the article, Sadler appeared before Missoula District Judge Jack Green.

____________________________________________________________________________________

The following is from an article in the June 29^th, 1984 Missoulian under Community Briefs, and titled, "Former lawyer James Sadler pleads innocent to theft charges".

"Former Missoula lawyer James Sadler pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that he stole almost $80,000 of his client’s money."

and -

"The Missoula County attorney’s office accused him of five counts of theft involving client’s real estate deals and one elderly man’s estate.  The approximately $80,000 is supposed to have been taken between 1976 and 1982."

and -

"In 1983 Sadler voluntarily surrendered his license to practice law after unspecified charges were brought before the state Bar Association.  A conviction for thefts of the kind charged in Sadler’s case is punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each count. "

and - 

"Sadler is a former Missoula City Council member."

__________________________________________________________________________

missoulaschoolswatchdog is of the understanding that Jim Sadler offered an Alford plea to these charges.


If msw is correct, the above mentioned Missoulian article is not available on the internet at this time. One can find it on microfilm at the Missoula County Library on Main Street.