Earlier this evening, the Turner Report featured a post on the resignation of Joplin High School vocal instructor Breana Clark, who has also served as the sponsor/director of the school's top notch show choir Sound Dimension.
The resignation came after the C. J. Huff Administration decided to make an example of Ms Clark for daring to turn in her contract late.
That happened because she was up for a position in another school district. When that fell through, she signed a contract, but nothing is that simple in a school district that is run through a culture of fear and setting examples for the other teachers of what could happen to them if they ever step out of line.
Ms. Clark was suspended for 11 days without pay- six days of in-service training that is being held because of the late start of school due to the construction of the high school...and the first five days of school.
No one in administration seems to have given a second's thought to how much the children in Ms. Clark's classes and in Sound Dimension would be affected by this punitive action.
Ms. Clark expressed it far more politely than most would have in a Facebook message she sent to Sound Dimension members last week:
Hello, all. I need to let you know about some changes to the beginning of the year that will impact Sound Dimension. Earlier this year, I applied for a position at a different district that would allow me to better support my family financially.
Because of this decision, I was late turning in my contract. The district policy is that because it was late, I had to reapply and reinterview for my job. I was offered my position again, but the district decided to make changes regarding my position that would affect all of you.
I will be employed by Joplin Schools starting on September 2, not August 15 like the rest of the teachers. Due to this, your first week of school you will have substitute teachers. I cannot conduct school business until then and we will not be able to do any camps or fundraising this summer. This will greatly affect our competition show next year, being that we will not be able to raise the funds during the summer that we need for costuming, choreography, etc. This is going to make our school year a little more stressful for everyone.
To recap, in order to punish Ms. Clark for something so minor (especially at a time when the district is losing teachers by the hundreds), the C. J. Huff Administration was willing to do the following:
-Dock a teacher 11 days pay
-Force her to reapply and reinterview for a job that she has done extremely well, bringing much credit to a school district that needs every positive light it can find.
-Not allow her to work with the kids during the summer, something that penalizes the students just as much or more than Ms. Clark.
-Force her to miss the first week of school when teachers set the pace for the entire school year.
-Force a substitute teacher on the students, costing them a week of education.
All so C. J. Huff and his chief operating officer, Tina Smith, can send a message to everyone that they are in charge and they must be obeyed and feared.
It appears Ms. Clark has become the latest teacher to leave the Joplin R-8 School District voluntarily without a job in hand. Why would you want to work for people who sign their e-mails "For the Kids," but show no evidence of what is good for the kids being the reason any of their decisions?
Does anyone wonder why teachers don't want to come back to the same superintendent and his staff? Maybe we should all just stay home the first 11 days since they don't seem to matter to Huff. After all, it'r really not all "for the kids." It's really all about Huff. Maybe he can put on his superhero cape and teach them all by himself.
ReplyDeleteAt least she would've gotten out of those crappy PD days. Maybe we should all do something to get kicked out for those days. Waste of time and waste of money.
ReplyDeleteHello, auditors--another example of CJ Huff's brilliance, right here.
They're driving us all out, one way or another. Ms. Clark just got the fast lane ticket.
ReplyDeleteIf's "for the kids"? What a joke. Wish it was funny. Pay the sub, spend 15 grand on stupid ass ribbon, lay off essential personnel, and make it impossible to teach. What an asshat.
No one should show up for his opening day. No one.
I can't wait for CJ to tell us how much he appreciates us all again. Aw, shucks, it'll be so sweet. Or maybe he'll have his preacher friend lecture us again about how all of the students are made in God's image and how CJ hasn't been phased by the fame and glory after the tornado. Made richer by a couple of hundred thousand, maybe, but just humble as berry pie!
ReplyDeleteIt'll be a good day to take a walk outside if that starts again. We already know how much we are not appreciated. Cut the cooks, custodians, bus drivers, and nurses for several days pay. Try to cut steps. Raise your pay and that of your friends. And then tell us you appreciate us. KMA, Huff. KMA.
If she is tenured, I do not think that they can do what they did. Those contracts are indefinite and don't technically even have be turned in. Joplin school district is nightmare!! My sympathy for those who have no choice but stay.
ReplyDeleteMs. Clark obviously wasn't being punished for turning in her contract late, she was punished for daring to look elsewhere for a job. She is definitely not the first teacher to turn in her contract late but the first I know of being punished so severely for turning it in late.
ReplyDeleteBeing suspended for six in-service training days is more like a reward than punishment. To be prevented from working on camps or fund raisers ON HER OWN TIME "for the kids" this summer is nothing short of stupid. Then again, many decisions by CJ Huff and Tina Smith fall in to the stupid category so this isn't a huge surprise.
I'm confused.....did she resign?
ReplyDeleteYes, I apologize if the post does not make it clear. She actually resigned one day after she sent the Facebook message to her Sound Dimension students.
ReplyDeleteThis is more evidence that if you decide to leave or try to leave, you need to keep that quiet until you have already signed a contract.
ReplyDeleteShould she have turned her contract in on time? Yes.
Have others turned theirs in late and it's been okay? Yes.
Were those others 'punished'? No.
Anyone want to bet on whether a football coach would have been treated in the same manner?
I guess we won't be listening to Sound Dimension on opening day.
Opening day? Maybe in January. That building is a long ways from being usable, and there are only six weeks left. Maybe they can use that 6.5 miles of "mission accomplished" ribbon to cordon off areas still under construction.
ReplyDeleteThey have no regard for teachers in Joplin, for sure. They prove it with everything they do.
She was honest with her principal about applying for the job, and he did not advise her to turn in her contract or what the ramifications would be if she did not turn it in on time. After all was said and done, he said she probably learned her lesson!!
ReplyDeleteWhat does it take to get rid of King Narcissus Huff (KN Huff not CJ)and get him out of town? what is the board thinking------or not thinking!
ReplyDeleteSomeone tell me if I'm wrong but didn't Huff n Puff go looking elsewhere for a job? He was not punished. Sad state of affairs when someone wants to better his/her situation. Not all.of us make almost $200,000 per year and get to go on fancy prepaid trips and have a private pool.
ReplyDeleteIf I am not mistaken, some of the music/choral classes are having classes in hallways, not a room, due to unfinished construction. So if the facilities can be late, why can't a teacher turn in her contract late, especially if she was simply trying to better her family?
ReplyDelete