C. J. Huff to Board: Let's end this pretense and make me king

I have hesitated the use the word dictatorship when writing about the C. J. Huff Administration.

It is a loaded word and to many people, it is always an exaggeration, something that is used when a leader does something questionable.

It is becoming more and more obvious that the word, with all of its negative connotations, applies to what C. J. Huff is doing and has done to the Joplin R-8 School District.

Strong leaders surround themselves with strong people, people who can challenge them and tell them, respectfully, when they are wrong.

C. J. Huff has surrounded himself with Tina Smith and Mike Johnson, and a collection of overpaid yes-men (and yes-women) who stumble all over themselves to build the Huff brand name.

The people who are supposed to keep Huff's excesses in line, a board of education elected by the people, have been rendered impotent, not just since the Joplin Tornado (that only sped up the process), but since he first arrived in Joplin, seeming more like a baby-faced Harold Hill ready to sell band uniforms to a community without a band than an educational leader.

Some of his early actions were a clear indication of where his administration was heading.

-It was vital to him that the name of the school district be changed from Joplin R-8 to Joplin Schools because, he said, it would be easier to market.

-He made a media event out of having his picture taken with every kindergarten student in the district.

-His first exposure to publicity that extended beyond Joplin was his decision to make teachers' tattoos an issue. It was something that should have been addressed quietly. It was C. J. Huff who made it a national story, a signal to the public that he was more concerned with appearances than with the quality of education that took place in our classrooms.

At the same time that he began the process of marketing Joplin Schools and, more precisely, C. J. Huff, he began the move, which could be accelerated at tonight's meeting, of turning the people's elected representatives, the board of education, into an impotent body serving only to rubber stamp each of his costly initiatives.

The first step was to isolate the board from the public. That was done by the takeover of the board's agenda. The board's time became too valuable to have to deal with the concerns of the people who elected them.

To even speak to the board at one of its meetings, a parent or other concerned taxpayer has to first clear a set of hurdles. He has to apply in advance and has to be speaking about a topic that not only is on the board's agenda, but is also coming up for a vote.

Even then, he is not guaranteed an opportunity to speak. That decision is left to the president of the board of education and C. J. Huff.

Huff has arranged motivational "retreats" for the board where they listen to speakers tell them how valuable their time is and how they should stay above the fray. Deal only with substantial matters of policy and not with anything having to do with the day-to-day administration of the school. You hired an administrator for that, they are told over and over. That's his job. You have to have faith in him and let him do what he is being paid to do.

Huff also changed the very nature of the board meetings. They were no longer government meetings, but tightly scripted variety shows designed to convince the viewing public on Jet 14, and the board, that all was right in the Joplin R-8 School District under the benevolent leadership of C. J. Huff.

The meetings always start with a district showcase, children from the school explaining a project or performing. That is invariably followed by some of Huff's highly paid administrative team,sometimes accompanied by teachers, offering presentations on one initiative or another, always successful, of course, which are supposedly putting the district at the forefront of innovative educational practices.

Since the tornado, the meetings have always featured video construction updates, often accompanied with stirring music.

After the videos, the board quickly passes the consent agenda, which often includes hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars worth of spending,and far reaching changes to board policies, without any public discussion.

Then it is back to Huff and the board president offering updates on school activities, sporting events, concerts, open houses, etc. with Annie Sharp, even before she became board president, congratulating individual students or groups who have done something positive.

Lately, especially right before this last election, which was the first time a major challenge had been mounted to the way things have been done, Huff delivers a speech, explaining away any concerns that have been raised, usually with a condescending approach that delivers the message that the public simply cannot understand all of the complicated things he and his staff have to deal with each day.

It is usually all tied up in a tidy two-hour package, then shown over and over again to Jet 14 viewers over the next month.

The board meetings, like so much else since he arrived in Joplin, are not governmental sessions, but are simply Huff fluff with little or no substance.

Huff has also effectively cut off any access teachers, principals, or support workers have to the board. He has violated grievance procedures, fired teachers who followed the chain-of-command (including a number of teachers from McKinley Elementary), and has removed all but three principals since he arrived just six years ago.

Tonight, if he is allowed to do so by the board of education, he will take the first step toward privatizing the school district and removing any say that our elected officials have in who works in the schools.

Huff is suggesting a number of far-reaching policy changes that would take all responsibility for hiring and firing secretaries, bus drivers, custodians, and other support personnel out of the hands of the board of education and leave Huff, and Huff alone, in charge of those decisions.

The move comes at a time when Huff's autocratic rule has given NEA inroads into organizing support workers. If all decisions are put into Huff's hands, he can outsource the work to private companies and not have to deal with NEA.

Without the grievance process, students and staff will no longer have any protections when safety violations or other transgressions occur. And, as I shall show later today, even with those protections on the books, Huff's record for protecting his employees is almost non-existent and questionable decisions have also been made on matters that affect the safety of the students.

The way the agenda has been set up for tonight, the board will make the decision to turn over all of its power to C. J. Huff without even having a discussion since the policy changes are listed on the consent agenda.

Public education in the United States was created so our young people would learn how to effectively participate in their own government and help them in making informed decisions that would keep our country strong and enable us to thrive with our representative form of government.

How sad when the people who are directly responsible for the education of the children of the Joplin R-8 School District have no concept of these ideals.