Missoula trustees get first draft of districtwide MCPS Properties Plan after 1,300-survey response

Consultants for Missoula County Public Schools on Wednesday presented an update on the district's MCPS Properties Plan, reporting results from a public engagement effort that drew about 1,300 survey responses and an inventory of 14 properties under review.

The presentation, led by Kate Dinsmore of WGM Group and Max Grievey of LPW architecture, described a four-phase process of data collection, condition assessments and plan development that will lead to implementation recommendations. "We renamed the project MCPS Properties Plan because we felt like that was the best representation of the project," Dinsmore said. She said the team added Jefferson after the project began, bringing the total under review to 14 properties.

The plan team said it conducted building and site assessments with structural and MEP engineers, toured facilities and developed a common set of evaluation criteria including building condition, site size, location relative to predicted growth, site access, and current income generation. "We walked through all of the buildings in essentially two days and toured all the systems," Grievey said, summarizing the firm's assessment work.

Why it matters: the district has widely varying property uses (community gardens, leased nonprofit space, vacant lots and former school buildings), and trustees want reliable, comparable financial and condition data so they can weigh educational needs, maintenance obligations and community benefit. The consultants said the survey found strong support for keeping community uses at many sites, more mixed views on housing or selling properties, and clear concerns from groups that currently use buildings about losing access.

Details: the survey asked respondents to pick properties they use; the Dickinson Building (Lifelong Learning Center), Duncan Drive (Peace Farm) and Fort Missoula ("egg property") were among the most-cited. When asked to rank priorities, respondents placed instructional space first, followed by student activities and adult instructional space. Dinsmore said 60 to 80 percent of respondents agreed the district should continue operating properties similarly to today (leasing to nonprofit partners and allowing green-space access). On housing and sales, responses were split.

Trustees pressed for deeper financial detail. Trustee Mercer said the board should know a market valuation for every property so the board can compare replacement costs with market value. "If we decide not to sell a property, the board should decide that before we stop looking down that road," Mercer said. Trustee Walsh asked whether parcel-level appraisals could be commissioned for all sites; staff said Sterling CRE is supplying commercial evaluations for a subset of properties (about five or six in the current scope) and the district will explore expanding that scope if trustees want parcel valuations for every site.

Public outreach and next steps: the team plans open houses during the week of Sept. 15 at six buildings in the plan (Whittier, the old administration building, Cold Springs, Dickinson, Prescott and Mount Jumbo) and will collect feedback to refine alternatives and recommendations. Dinsmore said the team will provide a decision-making framework to apply the same criteria to each property. Consultants said a draft of more detailed assessments will be available to the planning committee on Friday, with a fuller posting to the project website and subsequent recommendations for board review in the fall; staff estimated a final completion moved toward January'February 2026.

Trustees and staff emphasized transparency and purpose-driven engagement. "We were really thoughtful about what was an accurate description that could be relayed to folks," Rachel Heftoria (project staff) said, describing outreach principles that shaped the work. The board asked staff to return with additional parcel valuations or order-of-magnitude lot appraisals where feasible and with a clearer list of which properties the consultants will appraise in detail.

Ending: the presentation was information-only; no decisions were made Wednesday. Staff said consultants will post a longer written summary and the raw survey breakdown on the project website and bring further information and recommendations to the board in a later meeting.