The photo shows how the ballot will appear. As I have noted numerous times over the past several weeks, the reason the top four names are listed as they are is because of the infamous "slumber party" the evening before the first filing date.
Joplin School Board Race Opens with Scandal, Slumber Party
Candidate forums are not always worth the time they take to watch. The R-8 Candidate Forum, held Monday, March 24, in the Corley Auditorium at Missouri Southern State University was a different matter. Though the Joplin Globe barred the public from attending, the video was shown live, has been shown again a few times on KGCS and is available on You Tube and at the following link:
Complete video- Joplin R-8 Board of Education Candidate Forum
One of the major issues of this election is the high teacher turnover in the school district. More veteran teachers have been leaving or have been shoved out the door, often to be replaced by teachers who have little or no experience. C. J. Huff has alternately blamed this exodus on the tornado, spouses taking jobs in other communities, and teachers who don't live up to his high standards.
Video- Huff on 100 teachers leaving: Their spouses got new jobs
Two hundred teachers leave Joplin over two-year period
An offer you can't refuse: The empire C. J. and Angie created (This one describes how administrators and teachers have been pushed out of the school district and how C. J. Huff has created an atmosphere of fear in the Joplin R-8 School District that has been sanctioned, by 7-0 votes every time by the Board of Education.)
Another major issue is the incredible spending that has taken place and not just because of the building projects. That issue has been addressed numerous times on this blog:
R-8 Board Member Randy Steele to KZRG: We Have Overspent
iPads for 6th, 7th Graders, More Highly Paid Administrators on R-8 Race to the Top Request (the request which was signed off on by the Board of Education, also included a plan to ask the taxpayers for a levy increase. It was the same plan submitted in 2012, less than six months after patrons approved the largest bond issue in the school district's history)
Joplin R-8 Board Approves C. J. Huff's Spending Spree (by a 7-0 vote)
Joplin Globe: Joplin R-8 School District Has No Financial Problem
Huff to Jet 14 Audience: I Have No Shame Whatsoever In How We've Handled Our Funds
SIx Months After Bond Issue, R-8 Board, Administration Ready to Ask for Tax Levy Increase
And information about the board and the candidates themselves:
Joplin School Board President to Principal: Don't Come to Us; C. J. Huff Is Your Boss
Joplin R-8 Taxpayers Pay $2,000+ to Motivational Speaker Who Says to Ignore Them
How Joplin R-8 Administration Controls the Message (the lack of access to the board was addressed during the candidate forum)
We Still Don't Know Who is Footing the Bill For Jeff Flowers' Campaign
Randy Steele $18 in Debt when Joplin Progress Committee bailed him out
Joplin R-8 School District Failed to Pay Taxes
Joplin Progress Committee gives $4,000 to Slumber Party Four
Lynda Banwart spends $13,000+ on Television Ads
David Guilford's Retirement Video (He has run his campaign with less money than any other candidate, but had a strong showing at the forum, a powerful letter to the editor in the Joplin Globe, and please watch this video. Toward the end, he convincingly makes the case of why teacher and employee morale, which is at an all-tine low in the Joplin School District, is so important.
Video: Jeff Koch on the Need to Improve Morale in the Joplin Schools
Video- Jeff Koch: I Want to Make Sure Our Parents and Kids Have a Voice on the Board
Debbie Fort: Common Core Standards Are Taking Away Local Control
Video- Jeff Koch on Common Core Standards and Local Control of Curriculum
The Fight Against Common Core: No Joplin Teachers Allowed (This one notes that on the DESE website, C. J. Huff and the Joplin R-8 Board of Education are listed as supporters of Common Core Standards.)
Threats, Tricks and Taxpayer Money: C. J. Huff Gets Down and Dirty in R-8 School Board Race
Randy Steele Campaign Spent More Money Than It Took In
I hate to be negative but if the people don't go to the polls and vote the bums out its the kids that will suffer and taxpayers will be hit for another tax increase to pay for the budget shortfall.
ReplyDeleteI hope this is the last week that Cj Huff is superintendent in more than just name. I hope that the board turns and that he, Flowers, and Landis all have to take their dirty tricks down the road.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they can all be in the landscaping business. Flowers' Flower Business. Mike Landis, Landscaper. Cj Huff, hole digger. Jeff Flowers...is there a good use for this guy?
The Huff administration and the Huffalumps have at least given us plenty to read, even if they kids don't have anything.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot to read on this post that is good informative reading but the best thing to read is the ballot. Vote for the bottom three and things will change in Joplin Schools for the better.
ReplyDelete