In the article, headlined " 'Thank you visits' drive Joplin school travel costs," Globe reporter Emily Younker examines the trips made by Superintendent C. J. Huff and Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer.
We learn that most of the administrators' travel was absolutely necessary so the school district could keep on getting donations. Much of it was Huff and Besendorfer traveling to thank those who had given to the school district, Huff said.
He also addressed his Washington Speakers Bureau situation (the Bureau charges $8,000 for a C. J. Huff speech):
Although Huff is also listed on a national speakers circuit, the Washington Speakers Bureau, he said the organization approached him and asked him to be on its speakers list, and he has had only one speaking engagement through that organization to date.
According to Huff, every bit of travel charged to taxpayers has been necessary for the success of the school.
Considering the shape the district is in, I think they better try another tactic.
ReplyDeleteAll those Saturday morning breakfasts that Besendorfer, Speck, and Carol Stark had must finally be paying off!
ReplyDeleteAgain Turner? Practice what you preach. If we add the Globe and the turner blog together and divide by 2 we could actually get to some truth.
ReplyDeleteGood Golly Miss Molly, sure like to ball
ReplyDeleteOh, when you're rocking and rolling Can hear your mama call
Good Golly, Miss Molly, sure like to ball
Good Golly, Miss Molly, sure like to ball
Oh, when you're rocking and rolling Can hear your mama call
I am going to the corner
Gonna buy a diamond ring
Would you pardon me
Kiss me ting-a-ling-a-ling
Turner mounts anti administration/revenge campaign
ReplyDeleteJoplin Globe reports actual factual data regarding expenditures of the administration. Globe includes comments from the superintendent. Turner does his best to make it sound shady. Wow. Stick with fiction Randy.
ReplyDeleteTo 11:04-
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha! P.S. You need a hyphen between "anti" and "administration."
Thank you 11:15. I apologize for my missing hyphen.
ReplyDeleteAfter months of not recognizing any comments made here, there is suddenly an onslaught of defensive commentary. Is this the tactic devised in the emergency meeting of administrators? Wouldn't it be better to just finally acknowledge the real issues and have a constructive dialogue?
ReplyDeleteWhat did the district charge the Globe for their researching fee of records? I hear the going rate is $28.50 an hour. I'm assuming the Globe was charged, also?
ReplyDeleteAnd, all the defensive commentary is directed at the writer of the blog. It doesn't address the issues. It sounds very middle school. Cheap distractions.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't much that is positive to write about the district at the moment. If you have something, share it with everyone.
I think one of the frustrating things about the local media is that there isn't much coverage about what are clearly real issues.
ReplyDeleteEven if one accepts that the writings of Turner and other commentators are biased to an extent that they should be taken with a grain of salt, the fact that this frustration exists points to something real and worth examining. It's obviously not just Randy Turner, or else there wouldn't be so much attention paid from both sides. A similar situation existed with Southernwatch. If either of these were simply the ravings of spurned or bitter people, they would not gain the traction they do. They touch a nerve, inspiring either sympathy or defensiveness as a result.
The Globe does not cover the source of these frustrations in any authentic way, it is biased in the opposite direction. There are rationalizations about wanting to be constructive rather than destructive, but where there are real issues beneath the surface, it's like pretending nothing is wrong.
Imagine a family that fights intensely behind closed doors but only presents a happy face to the world. The "happy face" is a mask, and the problems go unaddressed and so continue. The kids who are subject to the abuse have no power to change the situation, so they start to rebel and lash out, anything to cope with the psychological stress of being powerless in a bad situation. Do we then chastise the children because they're just being negative and immature, and they should listen to their dad because he's a doctor and obviously knows what's best? Or do we recognize that the kids acting up is an indicator of more serious issues, and that pretending things are alright doesn't make things better?
In using this metaphor, I am not trying to suggest that Turner, Southernwatch, and the various faculty and staff that use these forums are children with little insight into their own actions. I am saying that where there such a collective expression of deep frustration, there is something real there that has little outlet elsewhere. Each of these people must feel some relief at knowing that they are not alone, that they are not crazy. Even if sometimes it comes out with anger and bitterness, I can extend some patience to these people because I see it for what it is, people trying to cope.
The Globe doesn't want to talk about it, so this is how it comes out. They can sit smug, like Citizen Kane finishing the negative review of his wife's performance so he can prove how "honest" he is, but as with that film, it's about self-image and ego, just as the 7-0 board decisions are meant to provide a happy face, giving little indication as to the deep scars and tensions underneath. Biased or not, the blogs are more authentic, and there is increasingly greater value in that.
And of course, the board backs those trips completely! After all, as CJ puts it himself, he and the board are joined at the hip and have an outstanding working relationship. Which in itself infers that the board knows EVERYTHING that their administration has been doing, and is therefore complicit. That's going to be an important point to remember.
ReplyDeleteOoooooweeee!!!
ReplyDeleteWho Let the Dogs Out?
Maybe some of these Turner bashers watch Die Hard like Southernwatch.
http://southernwatch1011.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/late-night-movie/
I keep recalling an editorial from the Springfield News-Leader which called bloggers "a thorn in the side"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.news-leader.com/article/20110118/OPINIONS01/101180308/Blogger-thorn-yes-threat-no
You're only a small prick, Randy and based on the plethora of comments in the 'ad hominem' vein, I can only add-- in big letters--
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
It's an old ploy, isn't it? If you can't argue the issues, you attack the speaker or messenger.
ReplyDeleteWhite chocolate mocha. Ah--the drink of choice for powerful men everywhere!
ReplyDeleteMy daddy used to say,"Son, if you cain't drink it straight you better leave it alone til you got some hair on your chest." The lesson applied to a lot more than coffee and whiskey.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone reading the blog know if there's still a big announcement and party set for August 8th? I haven't gotten my invitation yet and I'm seriously hurt by the oversight.
ReplyDelete