Not so in the Joplin R-8 School District, where Superintendent C. J. Huff not only signed such an agreement with his former assistant superintendent, Angie Besendorfer, chancellor at Western Governors University, but never bothered to tell the Board of Education about it, something that has become a habit for Huff.
In the following passage from the WGU news release, Huff explains the partnership.
“High-quality, well-prepared teachers are the most important element in our children’s education,” said Joplin Schools Superintendent C.J. Huff. “The partnership with WGU Missouri provides a great path for Joplin teachers who want to pursue higher levels of education while they continue to serve in their classrooms.”
That all sounds fine and good. It is hard to argue with having high quality, well prepared teachers, but there are a few things about the Joplin/WGU deal that make it a bit more problematic and perhaps worthy of discussion with the Board before it was signed.
1. Huff is on the WGU Advisory Board and recommended Besendorfer for her current position, a couple of factors that make the deal smack of a conflict of interest.
2. WGU is a private university and despite its name, is not based in Missouri, but in Utah.
3. If R-8 teachers are to benefit from WGU credits, it will require the board to change the district salary schedule since WGU awards its credits differently from other colleges and universities.
4. The Joplin R-8 School District is located in the same city as another institution, Missouri Southern State University, which also offers graduate courses for teachers. Considering that MSSU is a partner with the school district on Franklin Tech and has been involved in Huff's Bright Futures initiative since the beginning as a partner for both Joplin High School and East Middle School, the deal with WGU seems questionable.
At the least, it was in poor taste for Huff and Besendorfer to turn this partnership into a media event.
Many things have slipped under the radar as far as the Joplin R-8 Board of Education is concerned, especially since the Joplin Tornado. The realization is finally sinking in (and will be hammered home once the state audit is completed) that C. J. Huff is out of control.
Can you say Conflict of interest.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that he kept this from the Board. When the district joined in a partnership with Crowder College and MSSU to establish an Associate of Science degree, the Governor and the Board of Education were there to sign and witness the agreement. When Besendorfer and Huff cooked up this little scene, there were no officials there to witness it, just the cameras.
ReplyDeleteIt appears to be one hand washing the other. Unfortunately, both hands are so dirty that all that is accomplished is that both are more foul. And it brings this question to mind, what else is he hiding from the Board, other than 6.5 miles of ribbon?
I don't understand why MSSU would allow this idiot to have his Bright Futures conference on their campus again this year. And to think they bestowed an honor to Besendorfer last spring that should have gone to someone more deserving. I guess they now know what the rest of us know. She uses anyone and everyone for what she can get. Neither one of them has any conscience, and they've never needed to because they've never been held accountable. What a shameful embarrassment to this community!!
ReplyDeleteKind of makes you wonder what other little deals he has going on the side, doesn't it? He obviously doesn't care about the integrity of his business partners. What will it be next, Wallace Bajjalli? Birds of a feather flock together...
ReplyDeleteFollow the $$$$$$. Just saying.......
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Board of Education could collectively develop at least one spine and void this deal with WGU. That would certainly send a message to Huff that he, too, has to follow the rules.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that would never happen since the BOE members apparently don't understand that the superintendent answers to them, not the other way around. It would be interesting to know how many times any current board member has cast a dissenting vote on one of CJ, Tina, or Paul's "great" ideas.
Anonymous @7:28 PM: If Bright Futures is both a good thing (I really don't know) and is likely to survive after Huff departs, it wouldn't make sense for MSSU to cut ties like that.
ReplyDeleteAll Huff & Besendorfer affairs should be conducted in the dark...the public should be spared such dastardly deeds.
ReplyDeleteThe flock of birds gets bigger and bigger. It's a new breed called profiteering starlings. They migrate wherever there is an opportunity to exploit a situation to their advantage. It takes some determination and some backbone to run them off, but it can be done.
I would hope that Huff does keep his crimes from the board, otherwise they are accomplices. If I were a board member in Joplin, I would be hiring a good lawyer right about now. They stood by and watched the district get torn apart and signed on to it with him. It's on their shoulders as well as his. And they're still letting him stay. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteIf the board allows him to do these things, he will continue doing them. Someone needs to step up and say "Wait a minute! We need more information!"
ReplyDeleteThis Board has historically gone along with anything and everything C.J. has concocted. I'm not sure what purpose the Board of Education serves if all they do is rubber stamp everything.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they still see him as a rising star and they may become famous too if they just stick with him. Unfortunately, when his star burns out it will be the BOE responsible for the mess he left behind because they didn't do their jobs.