It also marks a turning point for whether they want to continue to allow teachers and staff to be fearful of losing their jobs if they say or do one thing to displease those at the top (or even if they are just doing a job that administrators want to give to someone else) or if they want to make the Joplin School District the workplace of choice as it once was.
Most importantly, the April ballot is a choice between one new program and one new expenditure after another designed to build administrators' resumes or finally making decisions based on what is best for the children and the taxpayers.
Let history show that the most important board election in years began with a slumber party.
Details are not clear about exactly who attended this slumber party, which was held at the Administration Building at 32nd and Duquesne, only that select people were invited. Filing for the Joplin R-8 Board of Education officially began at 8 a.m. this morning when the doors were unlocked. For the first time, some board candidates were allowed to circumvent the rules.
Board President Jeff Flowers indicated that he arrived at 8 p.m. the previous night, using his own key to enter the building..
According to her Facebook page, by the time former Irving Elementary Principal Debbie Fort showed up at the building at 3:30 a.m. to wait in line, she received an unexpected greeting.
I arrived at the Board of Education at 3:30 am to file my candidacy. Imagine my surprise to discover one or more of the current board members waiting inside the warm building. I don't know if it's legal but for me it certainly seems unethical. They offered to let me wait inside but I declined. Seems like the playing field should be the same for everyone.
Reportedly, it was Jeff Flowers who greeted her.
The idea behind arriving early is the tried-and-true premise that those who are not certain about who they are going to vote for have a tendency to cast their ballots for the first names listed.
Those names, in addition to Flowers, include his fellow board member and former board president Randy Steele, Shawn McGrew, who has played a prominent role in Bright Futures the past couple of years, and Linda Banwart, one of the people who was in charge of the successful campaign for the $62 million bond issue, the largest in Joplin R-8 history. All four reportedly were part of the slumber party designed to make sure their names were listed first. (Note: The names will be listed in this order- Steele, McGrew, Flowers, Banwart.)
What they talked about during the long hours is unclear. Perhaps they ordered pizza and whiled away the time discussing whether Becky really kissed Johnny or if Cindy had a crush on Freddie.
Maybe time was spent on a rollicking game of Truth and Dare, ending with a dare for everyone to ask for plush jobs with Western Governors University.
Or perhaps they waited in stony silence, waiting for someone to have an original thought.
After Debbie Fort turned down Flowers' generous offer to come in out of the cold and join the slumber party, the next candidates to arrive, also left off the invitation list, were Jeff Koch and David Guilford.
Their names will be a bit further down the list.
This time, despite the statistics, I have a feeling most people are going to review the full list of candidates. Despite the Joplin media's lack of interest in the scandals surrounding C. J. Huff, Angie Besendorfer, and the Joplin R-8 School District, word has been spreading quickly.
Angie Besendorfer is already on her way out, the first to desert the proverbial sinking ship. While state and federal investigators have been focusing in on the problems emanating from 32nd and Duquesne, C. J; Huff has been scrambling to hold his crumbling empire together.
During the past couple of months, Huff has discouraged some people who wanted to run for board of education and, on at least one occasion, dropped a hint to a prospective board candidate's employer that running for the position could cause problems in the workplace.
And Huff has every reason to be worried- if his favored candidates do not win, the days of "joined at the hip' will be a distant, unpleasant memory. All that will be needed at that point, is one more vote to bring an end to the disaster that has been C. J. Huff's administration.
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49 comments:
They will be crooked and unethical until the end. I wonder if any of them have personally profited from the disappearing funds? I will vote for no one currently on the board. I will not vote for the carefully groomed Huff candidates, McGrew and Banwart, but I will vote for the others. We've had enough of deception and corruption in R8. It's time for a change in a more honest and transparent direction.
I thought Steele was a preacher--a man of God--and this is what he does? It's true. No one is safe from temptation. He won't get my vote again.
Why would you question Mr. Steele's faith. Since you apparently believe in this same non-existent god, don't you think this was part of the greater plan? You religious nuts are something else. Maybe you should pray more. Or maybe not since it will change nothing....
So how is Debbie showing up 4 1/2 hrs early any different than the others?
Why is it ok for Debbie to show up early but not the others? Get in line.
The point, David, is that she waited AT THE DOOR as they were supposed to. First to the door is the first on the ballot. The Huff candidates gave themselves an unfair advantage by going inside closer to the filing office.
>>>So how is Debbie showing up 4 1/2 hrs early any different than the others?<<<
They accessed the building after hours when it is not open to the public in order to have their names atop the ballot. Only the insiders get this advantage. What's not to like?
Oh, if any reporters from the Globe showed up maybe they were inside with the chosen few?
Does the R8 board have a policy covering access to the Administration Building; specifically, an after hours access policy?
There's just no defending these folks anymore. It's a shame. They wasted all that momentum after the tornado, destroyed feelings of goodwill, and used up all the district's resources in a very short amount of time. They could at least take an honest approach at this knowing that they're being watched. That's just arrogant.
Just when you think they can't sink any lower they go and prove you wrong. Showing their skunk stripes.
I bet the Missouri School Board Association would be proud of this group. But then, they back Nicastro, so they might overlook a little corruption here and there.
Male/female slumber party? Really? There's some ethical behavior there, uh huh. No one with any sense at all would do that. Idiots. Why are we not surprised.
Way to set an example for the students! Teachers can use this for real world relevant lessons about corrupt politics. It's not just in the history books. Not that Joplin has any.
Maybe they played on their iPads all night and jumped on their German furniture!
Sorry, if the Devil & Debbie were the only two on the ballot, would vote for the Devil! :-)
That's rather sick, 5:39. Go see a priest. You need help. You would be right at home with Huff & Co., though. Just your type.
Thanks 5:52, love the complement ...at least I am in the "in" crowd...see a priest, right, oh I will light a candle for R8 to get back to the great district hat it was..
Thank you 5:52, just made my evening...got to you!!!!
Debbie can't be trusted to do anything that doesn't benefit Debbie directly. If she was invited in and declined, she has nothing to complain about. Didn't know she had Turner in her back pocket.
Thank you 5:52!
The kind of people who are attracted to Huff are alarmingly mean spirited. That the school discrict has been destroyed financially, the staff has or is leaving, the students aren't learning, seems to go right by them. Makes us wonder what they really value.
Strange that you would take pleasure in that. It says so much about you. Sad.
I also will light a candle. And then I will vote for anyone who does not support what Huff and Besendorfer have done.
6:20--
I believe the word you want is "compliment." A true Huff follower. Mean and critical and none too bright.
7:07--
She could do so much worse. She could have Huff or someone from his league in her pocket.
Funny, all the Huff people seem to want to do is decry faith and rip people apart. They can't defend their side, so all they can do is be hurtful. Interesting. I don't want to entrust the education and well-being of my children to such mean people.
Karma always finds away! God will weed the evil out one way or another. Everybody should be concerned and every parent/guardian should be in front of the board and involved in their childrens's education! It so sad to hear from many that the education in Joplin has gone down hill! All they care about is a graduation number. Carl junction and Webb are so far ahead of us in education it is on real! All the money spent needs to be accounted for and I hope and pray it was spent in a correct manner and not in their new lavish homes! All truth will reveal itself!
Hey is a preacher man!! Who are you to judge! No where does it state what time you can show up to put your name on the ballot!..Mr Steele cares about those kids and making a better future for them. Not about the stupid politics!
No matter what, our kids are losing. :-(
It is time to heal & stop the snarky remarks....join together to try to figure out the problems with R8 & correct them...some mean things have been said & posted regardless of personal expiernce with some these people & some these people have been not very nice to their employees ...light candles for the entire district & move on...if I have one Christmas wish it is to get everything & parents, kids, employees, admin back working together
work for these horrible people, then u can.judge. these people the board are suppose to be the voice of the people. instead they are in.Huffs pocket. so glad i got out as well as got my children.out.
Can you elaborate? I would like to know why I should bot vote for Debbie
Character counts. I shared this on my Facebook page and it has since been shared multiple times by others with several comments. Obviously, voters care!
Bess isn't running away in the middle of the year for nothing. She put her whole heart, or whatever it is she has in there, into her dream schools. Leaving before they're really up and going just makes a body real curious about what that bunch of folks has been up to, doesn't it? Must be big to make that foursome spend a whole night together. I can't think of what it would take to get me in there with that group. Ain't enough money in all the world that's worth that kind of suffering.
11:18--
There are laws stating when you can show up to put your name on the ballot, or the whole situation wouldn't be a matter of discussion. There are protocols and ethics. The group inside the building broke the ethical code of conduct. No ethical person would have taken advantage that way, and they did not have a reason to be in that building. It is a school district building, not their camping spot in order to get their names on the ballot first. Those who really care about the kids want to set a good example for them by doing things ethically and legally.
That's quite likely a violation of law and a complaint should be filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.The Ethics Commission can, investigate, impose fines and make recommendation for criminal charges. They investigate all complaints, and all it takes is one registered voter in the district to file a complaint. I don't live in the district. It's using public funds, the building, it's heat and lighting, as a school board member to promote your campaign. It's illegal..
Pray for our kids
I question the intelligence of school board members who used their access to the building, knowing this would be an advantage over a candidate who was challenging their board position. If they thought this was ok, what other improper actions do they consider appropriate? This mentality may explain some of the poor decisions that have been made.
The arrogance in this situation is just a reflection of what they've been doing for so long. They seem to truly believe they can do whatever they want, legal and ethical be damned, and woe to anyone who gets in their way. It would be interesting to know why the other two candidates stayed with Steele and Flowers after it was obvious a violation had occurred. They must be some of Huff's misguided followers. They, too, should face the Ethics Commission.
What self-respecting woman is going to stay the night unchaperoned in a building with three men just to get her name in a good spot on the ballot! I used to think well of Mrs. Banwart, but perhaps that 68 million dollar bond issue she steer headed has altered her values.
Why are all Of you choosing to comment as anonymous?
BOTTOM LINE HERE-which seems to be overlooked .. no matter whether they were inside or outside Debbie wouldn't have been first in line anyway. She was invited in - which indicates she chose to be excluded. She's just ticked off that she didn't beat them there, and using it as an excuse to try to move to the front of the line.
Oh come on this is 2013, not 1950's! Women do NOT need chaperoned, they can take care of themselves. It's stupid people like you that steer the conversation at hand away from the important subject being debated.
The bottom line, Julie, is that they broke the Code of Ethics for filing for public office, and they appropriated district resources for their own personal benefit. Both are unethical and illegal actions. Get some facts.
So then, Julie, why does the district go to such trouble on trips to make sure male and female staff are housed in separate rooms? I guess from now on we can just send them all together and trust them to do the right thing.
By staying in the building as they did they misappropriated public resources and opened themselves up to speculation. That is why we take no chances. Get some facts, Julie, before you start labeling people.
Julie, your argument is there was nothing gained by the early entry. We don't know if there was a gain or not. Maybe those four would not have been there as early if they would have had to wait in the below freezing weather but maybe they would. We will never know. What gets lost is that if people want a change they need a change in the board. What is it called when you do the same thing over and over but expect a different outcome?
I have no idea who Julie HR is nor do I care for
DF, but the fact is that current board members used a key to spend the night inside where it is warm, then asked DF in which she refused, makes me think more of her than I should ...I don't like her, but she seems to have some ethical qualms ...
And why didn't this run on the news since Lisa Oligas was there?
People post as anonymous so they aren't escorted from the building or moved to jobs they are not certified to teach or given duties that are ridiculous. True stories. Anonymous protects the innocent.
It is long past time for Huff to go. Why does he hang on or further more why is he allowed to hang on. Poor money management, lack of stability in the staff, and most of all failed
student achievement. Anything he attempts is for show. He has wasted our tax dollars since he came. New buildings were required however, Joplin is a town of conservative people who don't have the showboat mentality. We need a fresh start here
with someone that can clean this mess up.
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