C. J. Huff's latest blog- What's next (and can I get out of here before it happens)?

Superintendent C. J. Huff, who announced earlier today his candidacy for Missouri commissioner of education, in a blog post shared his latest thoughts about the direction in which the Joplin R-8 Board of Education is heading:

What’s Next?

The ribbon cutting last month was a great way to commemorate the amazingly difficult work that has gone into the recovery effort the past 39 months. What our school community has accomplished on behalf of our children is not only a monumental achievement, but your work also remains inspirational to communities across the state and nation. 

Since the dedication of the new Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center, many in the community have asked me this question: “Now that our Eagles are home, what’s next?” It’s a great question with a simple answer. We’re back to business.

In our “back-to-business” work over the next six months, we will focus on four primary areas. You will be reading more details about what that looks like in the coming months, but in broad terms, our areas of focus will be:

1. Academics: Fine tuning our system, identifying gaps, and ensuring a fully aligned curriculum for every student in every subject.
2. School Facilities: Reviewing long-term capital outlay needs, analyzing vacant property and buildings, evaluating building equality (especially at the elementary schools), and monitoring post-disaster enrollment growth.
3. Financial Stability: Continuing our work with FEMA over the next 18-24 months on any FEMA-eligible, disaster-related costs; projecting local, state, and federal revenue; and reviewing the district operating budget, including an analysis of salary and benefits, to ensure we are still competitive in the education job market.
4. Relationship Building: Developing more efficient ways to communicate district happenings, creating more opportunities for community engagement in our efforts, and continuing to support the community’s ongoing recovery effort. 

The fact remains that while our disaster construction efforts are coming to a close, the recovery effort continues. But the good news is we are in a much better place to get back to business than we were just a few weeks ago. We are blessed to be in such a wonderful community that has endured the road to recovery with us. On behalf of our faculty and staff, we thank you for your continued support as we move forward.

Until next time,

CJ