(The following e-mail was sent to Joplin R-8 staff this morning by Superintendent C. J. Huff.)
Dear Faculty and Staff,
As you may have already heard, Tom Schweich, Missouri State Auditor, announced he will be coming to Joplin at my request to conduct an audit of Joplin Schools. Personally, I'm looking forward to getting the process started and working with the State Auditor's office in the coming months.
Just a few points for clarity...
1. Tom Schweich visited Joplin Schools in 2011 following the disaster. At that time he indicated that an audit would be coming at some point. In his view, due to the volume of donations we had received following the storm, it was important to do so. We welcomed the opportunity at that time.
2. Recently a petition was started to call for an audit of Joplin Schools. The end result would have been the same as in #1 so long as enough signatures were collected. However, the primary difference being a State audit and a petition audit is the district would have to pay approximately $100,000 to the State Auditor to conduct the petition audit.
3. This past week I reached out to the State Auditor's office and invited them to our district to conduct the audit. Yesterday the State Auditor accepted my invitation as outlined in the attached press release from his office.
So what does all of this mean? As standard practice, the district has an outside audit conducted on an annual basis, even though the law only requires us to conduct an audit every two years. In my view, a new set of eyes reviewing how we have done business the last three years in particular is a good thing. We have an opportunity to improve practices, just like we do with our annual audit. Additionally, we hope to be able to provide meaningful insight to the State Auditor's office that might be useful to them as they support other communities that encounter the same challenges during a major recovery effort.
In short, we welcome the State Auditor and his team to Joplin. We know we do a lot very well, while at the same time we recognize there are always areas we can improve. We look forward to working with Tom Schweich's team to identify any areas of concern. Stay tuned for more information.
For our kids,
CJ
Oh I almost vomited. That "For our kids". What a crock. I sincerely hope the state does a complete audit and not a dog andnpony show for Huff. Also it may be wise for the state to ask to see the second set of financials kept stored away in the bunker at 32nd and Duquesne.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really creepy is that in an affort to be relevant and to try to keep traffic to this site, you keep going back to this bizarre obsession with CJ Huff. 9 of your last 20 posts tie directly to Huff and really calls one to question any slanted "news" you feed to the disgruntled in Joplin.
ReplyDelete1:31, yet you feel compelled to comment on a site that you feel is completely irrelevant. Perhaps that is creepy. Huff and the R-8 administration will stop being news when 100+ teachers a year stop leaving the district.
ReplyDelete2:35, your comment lacks logic or conviction. In your blind effort to defend Turner or your contempt for r-8, you have made the assumption that u feel the sire is irrelevant. I never stated that. My question is how is commenting on a site one does feel is irrelevant creepy? Your comment makes no sense and is confusing at best. If you are going to make comments in the future that attempt to insult me, at the very least come prepared and construct a more coherent post. I agree that teachers leaving the district in large numbers is news. What I am merely saying is that with the extraordinarily high number of Huff posts lately that all say the same thing, one could assume the poster Is hell bent on destruction and might inclined to slant the "news" a wee bit in his favor.
ReplyDelete5:03--
ReplyDeleteYour wording and style are confusing. You are overreaching in your attempt to sound as though you had something relevant to say in the first place. I would say this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, so far as coherent and meaningful posts are concerned.
I think if anyone wants to label something as "creepy," all one needs to do is go back through the posts about R8 that have documentation of the misdeeds by its Central Office administration team. There are so many documented instances of abuse of staff, abuse of funds, and dereliction of duty that one could truly get the creeps just thinking of these people being in charge of the kids. Perhaps instead of flinging mud, which does nothing but smack of desperation, readers should review the documented facts and then let the auditor do his job.
ReplyDeleteIf I found someone's news reporting to be creepy, I think I would stop reading it. Oh wait, I did! I quit reading the Globe once I realized how slanted and uninformed its stories are. It's wonderful living in a free country where people get to express their beliefs, isn't it? All we have to do is walk away, or provide evidence to the contrary of the report.
ReplyDeleteDear CJ,
ReplyDeletePlease stop sending us these emails. We know the truth, so your attempts to gloss it over are just adding insult to injury.
For the kids,
Your Staff
Agree with 5:20. 5:03, You are stating that Turner has an obsession with Huff, then proceed to defend your post by pretending that it was some sort of high-brow, intellectual argument. I always find it amusing that people will seek out something they dislike, then proceed to berate it. If you don't like it, don't watch it, listen to it, read it, support it, whatever. You claim that the post on 2:35 is incoherent, yet it clearly states that there is a real problem with the district that must be addressed. Your rambling response comes across as extremely defensive. You honestly can say that writing often about someone that you feel is destroying Joplin's public education is more creepy than someone trolling a site to criticize the author? If you feel the news on this site is slanted, quit reading. My guess, though, is that you are posting your comments here in the hopes of swaying public opinion away from Turner.
ReplyDelete5:20. I am sorry if I used words above your reading level. My post is sound and coherent to anyone with a 12th grade education.
ReplyDeleteAs for 6:07, apparently you are the troll. You look for posts that are not directed at you, then make a vain attempt to criticize my post as "rambling". I suppose that in your world if you hear something you don't approve of you cast stones or don't read it. I do not subscribe to that theory. I read and educate myself to both sides of an issue. I feel this important but it is apparent that you cannot do the same. I also feel it is important that I am able to offer my opinion on an issue. So I would say the same to you: If you don't like it, don't read it. And certainly Turner is not obligated to post it. He has done this many other times when he did not agree with what I have posted. Good day to you.
6:37. Apparently you don't have a recent Joplin 12th grade education. In case you have not heard there is nothing you can do to keep from receiving a diploma from JHS. This accomplishment has been so watered down that is is laughable. I know parents that feel their own child didn't deserve to graduate. We are not doing our kids any favors by releasing them to the world unprepared!
ReplyDelete