It is ironic that a school district that spends more than most of the other area school districts combined on public relations had to find out at a special Board of Education meeting that it is not communicating with the public.
Unfortunately, some of the ideas that came out of that meeting are the things that will do the least to improve the situation.
Please, please, please do not try to find out what the public wants by conducting a survey. We have had it up to here with surveys, most of which are written in such a manner as to get the answer district officials want.
Public forums were suggested during Monday night's meeting. While those would be far preferable to surveys, it is hard to find times and places that are workable for much of the public and even having several of them would not reach a large segment of the community, especially those who do not have children in the schools.
It was also suggested that more committees be formed with the public included. That is also a nice idea, but far too many times, we have seen such committees limited to people who are not willing to question anything that school administration wants to do.
What the board needs to do, and there is no reason to believe that any of these ideas will ever be considered, is the following:
Expand public comment time during board meetings
At this point, the public can only speak if it registers well in advance, and even then, only if it is about a matter that is on the board agenda.
That immediately limits the board's knowledge of what is going on in the district to whatever the superintendent wants it to know. The public is often interested in other matters, just as important, but feels it has no way to communicate with the board since it has to go through hoops set up by administration to get on the agenda.
Sure, there will be some times when the complaints seem minor, but inviting the public to participate is great public relations and does not cost a cent. It also offers the board the opportunity to find out what the public thinks and perhaps pick up some good ideas. Time limits will still be necessary for speakers, but it can be done in a much more polite fashion than it has been done in the past and without a board president warning each succeeding speaker about the time limit.
Televise the work sessions
The afternoon work sessions the board holds before the evening meetings have never been televised.
Often, those are the sessions where differences in opinion are aired and the board gets into the mechanics of how things are working in the school district. The Joplin City Council recently discarded this type of meeting in favor of more openness and has combined its work sessions with its regular evening meetings. It has worked well.
The idea of either combining the work session and the regular session or televising the work session was brought up by a board member recently (in a work session, of course), but the board opted not to televise the meetings, because they did not think it was necessary.
Televising the work sessions or combining both sessions (and perhaps dropping some of the public relations presentations and sticking to business) would keep the public more informed and promote an atmosphere of openness. The district has Jet 14 and a YouTube channel. Why not use them?
Get out and talk to the people
If board members really want to know what is going on in the district, they cannot expect to find out by attending monthly board meetings, a few committee sessions, and going to seminars and training sessions.
They need to get out and meet with the public and not just those who happen to own businesses or hang in their social circles. When I was at the Carthage Press, a Carthage High School student conducted a survey and the results ripped the newspaper to shreds. Some of the criticisms were on the mark, some were based on misunderstandings. I met with the student, told her I would make some changes (and I did), corrected the misunderstanding and explained why the Press did some of the things it did.
The fact that I had met with that student and made the changes was great public relations for the Press, but more importantly, it made it a better newspaper. Board members should seek out those who criticize the school district and listen to their concerns.
Instead, the board has actually brought in a motivational speaker, at a cost of $3,000, who recommended that board members not have dealings with the public. And now they wonder why they are having problems communicating with the public?
Following these steps would certainly make things a bit more unpredictable for the Joplin R-8 Administration, but it would create an openness that could mark the first steps toward restoring faith in a school district that has squandered almost all of the public's good will over the past few years.
18 comments:
#1
Fire CJ Huff
#2
Force out, by resignation or whatever mean legal, Mike Landis, Shawn McGrew, Randy Steele and Anne Sharp.
#3
Clean house at the Admin building starting with, but not limited to, Tina Smith, Mike Johnson, Kim Vann, Jason Cravens, Pat Waldo, Jennifer Dosier and move right on down the totem pole to the corrupt principals like Nila Vance and Steve Gilbraith. Lest we forget the smug little PR heifer.
Those 3 things would make community relations 150% better!
Dear anonymous that "smug little pr heifer" is my wife and she works very hard for the school. You are a spineless coward like every other anonymous poster on this mud slinging hack blog.
Dear Joe:
Take Huff's enormous tit out of your mouth. You defend the indefensible. That extra fifty g a year for doing nothing to help kids is good for you and yours, but it hurts this district. If you keep exploring the truth on this blog, you are going to need that extra free taxpayer money for therapy. Go stand in the street to defend your wife. You think you are a gun slinger, while you post a pathetic response to an anonymous commentor on a blog you do not even believe in. Just further proof of the power of words to fight the power of oppression. By the way, if 10:54 is female, are you going to beat her up. Maybe she has a husband that will stomp your spineless little ass. STFU.
Awwww. Did wittle Joey get him feewings hurt. Mommy, the big bad people are mean to me. I'm going to grow a cyber-pair and type something. Look at me! Mommy wow! I'm a big boy now!
This is 100 true only you forgot the huff followers, Jennifer doshier and Jason Cravens karen secrist
I'd make some joke here about heifers at the taxpayer trough, but even Billy Long knows pigs feed at a trough while heifers feed at a bunk.
They are listed in #2, except for Karen, I didn't know her name. :)
Or maybe 10:54 works at the bunker.
Joe, it's 10:54 pm, do you know where your heifer is?
Sorry I meant #3 :))
Jerry Springer called...he wants all of you "commentators" to come on his show. Randy, I am disappointed you are posting some of these comments...very unprofessional of you.
These comments are not typical of this blog. I would suggest that people concentrate their efforts on the man who made this mess, not the classified staff. That's like blaming poor test scores on the bus driver or the secretary. These people don't write the checks or fire people, they just do their jobs. Go read the post about Huff and the Common Core if you want something worthwhile to comment on. This kind of nonsense hurts the cause and creates a distraction that does no one any good at all. Shame on you all. Act like adults and stick with facts and legitimate issues.
It sounds like the new board members have decided to take the board in a different direction from the previous and current members of the old board. Good for them. Let's see if they really do that and hold them accountable to this new understanding.
Quite frankly, I've had a really good laugh out of the whole thing!
5:23
I'm just confused about one small detail. Which individual would you be referring to, the heifer, huff-n-puff, or joe blow?
When you make yourself a public figure and behave in an unprofessional manner, you are subject to public criticism. Get over it!!
7:41...talking about Mrs price. Being criticized about job performance is one thing. Being called vile and demeaning names by anonymous commenters is quite another. You get over it.....quit showing your ignorance!
I can tell you who the next superintendent will be if you will behave.
Kerry Sachetta... This will not be a bad thing. He is a decent man and can possibly put this district back on track.
8:51
I believe this community has had to get over it, pay for it and tolerate far too much for way too long. "Mrs. Price", as you chose to call her, Is a huge waste of taxpayer money. She does nothing except what Huff tells her to do. If she enjoys his hand up her backside as his puppet more power to her! Just know that she is on the list of a long line of file 13's to go the moment this community regains control of this school district.
I don't think it was very nice to call the community members a group of illiterate welfare slugs either, but that's what Huff said in so many words. Any self respecting PR director would have pulled in the reigns on his Grand Canyon mouth in an effort to make peace with the people of this community. Did she?? No! Why? Because she is on his payroll and does just exactly what HE says not what she should be doing!! So don't tell me she does a great job or that I shouldn't complain. She is being paid with my money and making a fool out of all of us along with the rest of the administrators. She put herself out there, she gets what she deserves!
Typical Admin tactics. Post incendiary remarks, anonymously, then feign outrage at the level of discourse. They offer their own manufactured evidence as proof of Randy's "unprofessionalism." The fact that Mr.T is extremely limited in the censorship on his blog is the true representation of his adherence to the airing and sharing of all ideas; even when he finds them personally objectionable; whether that be on the basis of taste or alignment with his own beliefs.
The real Springer show is taking place at 32nd and Duquesne. Except no one, beyond Admin, is entertained, because real people are being hurt; and not just their pride or feelings.
1) Televise ALL meetings that the board has.
2) Return to COMPLETE information for the public on board meetings. EX: list of resignations, retirements, etc.
3) Get rid of: Huff, Johnson, Cravens, Orem, Smith, Doshier, Stevens, Barlass and the PR, Bright Futures folks.
4) Replace the board.
5) Replace ALL elementary principals and assistant principals, and the principals at East.
6) Replace all learning coaches with REAL coaches. Those inexperienced teachers are going to need some help.
7) Go through ALL the books and look at how the money is being spent. Pretty sure the Title 1 and sped monies are being misappropriated.
8) Cut the tests and expensive programs that are not useful to learning.
9) Train and reimplement reading teachers.
10) Quit sending out surveys and notes and start REALLY listening to the people.
Post a Comment