As the walls continue to fall around the Joplin R-8 Administration, the next problem C. J. Huff and company have to deal with is a public backlash over the cost of the buildings that are scheduled to open in five days.
No expense has been spared in the construction of East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School, and administration officials are preparing for the questions.
The media is not going to be a big problem. As can be noted from the article in this morning's Joplin Globe, publicity will be centered around the opening of the schools with, of course, the reminder that the original schools were destroyed in the May 22, 2011, tornado.
While C. J. Huff appears to have local media well in hand, the public is a different matter, and often when the public wants to know what is going on in the schools, it asks the people with whom it has direct contact- the teachers.
So the teachers have been told to lie.
Sources at the schools have told the Turner Report that they have been told to lie if parents ask questions about the cost of some of the frills that the buildings have, including the eye-catching graphics.
The word "lie" was never used; the teachers were provided with information that was not true.
Simply telling the parents that they did not know how much these items cost was not a workable plan, officials apparently decided, since this would almost be an admission that money was wasted, so teachers were told to tell parents that the expensive items "did not cost much."
Of course, that might not be a lie, depending on your definition of what "expensive" is.
The Turner Report has been told by an administration source that the cost of graphics and "special touches" for the new buildings is well into seven figures.
Even worse for students, the rush to get the buildings ready for next Monday that is described in this morning's Globe will be a problem as far as their education is concerned. Contractors have confided that it should be a matter of weeks, perhaps a month or two, and not five days before these buildings are opened.
The buildings not only are not going to be finished by Monday, but there are reportedly safety concerns that have not been addressed, not the kind that will cause problems during a regular school day, but ones that could create serious problems if something out of the ordinary happens.
Some areas of at least one school do not have a safe place for children to go in the case of a lockdown, the Turner Report was told.
10 comments:
I am so fortunate to have retired when I did, as I have never lied, and I would not start in order to protect the image of this district. These schools were the dream of administration and a gullible school board, not of the people who have to work within them. It would seem to me the cost could be figured by looking back at the bid packages and checks written. It would take some time, but it might be helpful for those who are curious, or angry, about what has happened. The public needs to remember that as outrageous as things are, they were supposed to be even worse, but corners had to be cut in order to get the buildings paid for. Now the questions are what has become of the money devoted to buildings, and what was cut out?
I hope someone can get some facts, as the Globe never will. I am going to have to sell my home and move. I can't afford the taxes for my house which are far higher than was estimated. I no longer wish to be a part of a community that takes advantage of its patrons the way this one does. Shame on you, R8! I used to be so proud to be a part of the R8 family, but if I were teaching today, I would be looking around, myself. What a terrible, terrible shame, to take advantage of a disaster in order to promote yourselves at the expense of the taxpayers. Shame on you!
Does anyone know if there is any truth to the rumor that there isn't enough money to finish the high school? I'd like to know, because if it isn't finished, me and mine are moving to another district. I don't want my kids in the current situation.
I bet CJ wishes he and his had treated the teachers better. Fewer threats. Fewer firings. More pay. If I worked for R8, I wouldn't sell my soul in order to cover their behinds.
There's plenty of money to buy just about anything R8 wants. They just have to take it from the taxpayers.
4:17--
I will not be fleeced by R8 again. I have my pitchfork and lantern all polished and ready and sitting right by my tarbucket and bag of feathers. I learned that from CJ Huff himself.
I feel sorry for Joplin teachers. The tornado was only the beginning of a very long nightmare. I'd never lie to any patron of my district. I would tell them that administration has told me not to say what anything cost, and then I would direct said patron to administration for answers. Teachers have to be what they want their students to be, not what administrators would have them be in Joplin.
The high school WILL be finished on time...those in the Admin. building have anticipated the national media attention that will occur with that grand opening even before the original round of publicity died down. A January 2015 start date wouldn't make for a very heroic story.
Having dedicated 62 million bucks to these schools, I'd think the public would be entitled to know how it was spent. The frills look nice but do they significantly improve the quality of education provided to the students? From what we are seeing so far, the answer to that is a profound no. What else might the students have received that would actually promote learning? How much might taxpayers, some who live on fixed incomes, have saved with a little less grandeur and a little more common sense? These schools may be the dream schools of Carol Stark's good friend Angie Besendorfer, but they aren't necessarily the dream of the majority of us. Our students were learning better in their old schools in the years before the Huff/Besendorfer regime came to town. So obviously, it isn't the buildings, the technology, or the thousand initiatives we are all paying for that make the difference.
I am looking at the brochure that I was given when I went to East and it CLEARLY states EXACTLY how much each building cost. All 3 schools. On the same brochure. You are clueless.
6:12--
Is that brochure by any chance made by the same people who have spent the money? I'm sure it's as honest as they are. And does it have a line-item expense report? Somehow, I doubt it.
You are just the kind of person that con artists, sales clerks, and crooked politicians like to meet. Clueless.
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