The Globe made an argument that school superintendents should be overpaid and that C. J. Huff is a bright, shining knight fighting to improve the salaries of his faculty.
The newspaper also allowed Huff to tell how much more difficult his job is since he has to spend so much time dealing with poverty. Globe reporter Emily Younker writes, "He has long championed meeting children's basic needs in an effort to allow them to focus on school; the Bright Futures organization was created in 2010 based on this premise."
The article also uses statistics provided by Huff to show that the average teacher salary in the Joplin R-8 School District is $40,884. The only way that can be true is if Huff is categorizing his teaching/learning coaches, who serve as low-level administrators and do not have any classroom teaching duties, as teachers.
That has to be the case since over the past three years, the Huff Administration has driven scores of veteran teachers out of the system and replaced them with first and second year teachers, who receive minimum salaries.
One Huff quote in particular stands out. "Personally, I think our educators across the board are underpaid and underappreciated, and we have to find creative ways to offer opportunities to earn more money."
That sounds like the comment of someone who wants to make it appear that Joplin NEA's request for a ballot for collective bargaining is about teacher pay and not about the conditions that teachers have been forced to work under during the seven years Huff has been in charge.
The irony of this, and of course, it is not mentioned in the Globe, is that R-8 teachers would have received a pay increase of about three dollars a week and no salary steps under the budget C. J. Huff submitted to the board in June. (See accompanying photo of budget letter signed by Huff and CFO Paul Barr.)
Teachers would have gone into the hole under that budget since insurance costs were increased, but board member Debbie Fort fought to have that changed and the board's Finance Committee worked out a way to give the teachers a pay increase and their steps on the salary schedule.
If this had been a one year occurrence, it might be easier to overlook Huff's statement, but this year's budget was not the first in which teachers received no pay increases and did not receive their salary schedule steps.
The Globe "analysis" also explains why Huff is paid $177,275 a year and why superintendents in neighboring school districts have received pay increases by percentages far in excess of what teachers have received.
Basically, it amounts to the old axiom that if you want to have good administrators you have to pay higher salaries. If you want to have good teachers, well, what board would want to have good teachers if it can have superintendent who can run off those good teachers?
According to Joplin R-8 Board of Education President Annie Sharp, who was also the president when C. J. Huff was hired, the board's search firm and the Missouri School Boards Association said the salary should be increased to make Joplin's salary about the same as other districts of similar-size.
So, in order to hire a superintendent who could spend the district into near bankruptcy, run off hundreds of excellent teachers, and have the lowest test scores in the area we have to pay $177,275? (And that's not counting the three weeks of workdays Huff spent hopscotching the U. S. and Canada on his "We Will Have School" tour.)
Shouldn't we have been more reasonable and hired a superintendent who would only put us a few million in the hole, only run off a hundred or so teachers, and have slightly higher scores at a cost of maybe $120,000?
If Anne Sharp was willing to pay $177,275 a year for what we have received the past seven years and can justify it by saying you have to pay for quality, maybe, just maybe, she has been on the board too long.
With that kind of logic, it should be the R-8 taxpayers and not the superintendent who are shedding the tears.
This average salary is as believable as all of the other B.S. Huff peddles. A teacher with a Master's degree and 10 years of experience makes $40,922. Everyone knows the incredible turnover has resulted in a very inexperienced staff that makes much less than this. I am sure his figures are increased by factoring in coaching, summer school and Eagle Advantage hours, but this still does not account for the large discrepancy in base teacher pay between Joplin and other Missouri schools. How is he fighting for teacher pay? Where will the money for pay increases come from? The next superintendent should be payed significantly less than Huff's bloated salary, the TLC position should be eliminated with all current TLCs moving back to teaching positions, and the administrative staff should at least be cut in half. There is no way that anyone at admin can justify a six-figure salary. The fact that the Board has allowed this financial waste and abuse is sickening.
ReplyDelete"Find creative ways for them to make more money"--what the hell, man? Does this mean I have to take on even more work than the 50-60 hours I'm doing now, not counting grading time/planning at home, in order to catch up to where the rest of the state is already? Screw that. Count me out if Huff is here for one more year. Greedy jerks.
ReplyDeleteNow, we must remember that Huff rules by divine right, and therefore cannot be questioned and is worthy of far more than we could ever bestow upon him. Not to mention that Madam Huff must ever be kept in the latest of fashions and cars. The Huff family must have their private swimming lessons in their fancy cement pond. Sacrifices must be made by the lower classes in order for this to happen. Let the peons eat cake. That is, if they can afford it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that average also includes the Fusion teacher's salary, which is legendary for teaching staff. That would definitely bump up the average. Athletic coaches working all year don't make that kind of pay. It sure must put a strain on Bright Futures keeping that ego stroked.
ReplyDeleteI heard EA will be scrapped or greatly reduced next year. So where's this extra cash coming from? Huff's speeches? The man must go and all his staff with him.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne Sharp, for bringing this little idiot tyrant to R8 and fighting to keep him here. If you are foolish enough to run again, I will not only not vote for you, I'll work to get you defeated like Flowers. We've seen enough of your leadership. It's disastrous.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading about the state of the nation's children. For the first time in decades, more than 50% of the nation's children are living in poverty. Considering how abysmally low the rate for poverty is, that means far more are living in at-risk environments. In that light, and considering that Joplin's students are succeeding at a far lower level than they were when Huff arrived, how can the Board of Education justify this level of greed on the part of administration? Obviously, the superintendent has failed to do his duty, which is not to go around the country making tearful speeches. He must be fired and some sense of normalcy must be restored. This is indecent, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteThe audit will hopefully reveal the extent of the excesses. If it fails to open the Board's eyes, then the voters can have their say in April. To vote for an incumbent, or for Huff's latest Board recruit, Melinda Campbell, is a vote for Huff and a blessing for him to continue as is. Just say no, people. Take the district back.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
ReplyDelete1. How many years is R8 giving teachers with experience?
2. Is the new AD on admin salary or teacher contract pay?
3. How was teacher pay figured? With EA and stipends or flat contract pay, and which year was used? This year's seems to be unobtainable for some mysterious reason..
4. Huff's salary does not reflect his insurance package, retirement (both the real one and the secret one), travel expenses, etc. What does he may with all of the above?
As usual, the Globe only got some of the facts, but it missed by far getting all of them.
I notice the Globe forgot to mention that Joplin teachers are paid way below the state average and that Joplin administrators are paid way above the state average. That would have been useful information. All this article is for is to try and preempt collective bargaining. It won't work, Huff, because we aren't stupid. In fact, we are highly informed. Sorry Carol. Your little friend is just going to have to face the music or leave town. We'd settle for the latter.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Miss Suzanne is concerned, she who has never worked and was born with a silver foot in her mouth, teachers who are unhappy can just leave.
ReplyDeleteI think of that every time I see her at a game with her camera trying to pretend she really cares. She's as phony as her boy toy CJ. Birds of a feather flock together...
I've worked for R8 for almost ten years. I don't earn that much money. Most of the people I know left already and younger teachers took their place. The numbers don't add up. Something stinks here. I think we can all guess what it is. Or who.
ReplyDeleteOne reason we dropped the Globe. We got tired of paying an insane amount of money for either lies or nothing.
ReplyDelete"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
ReplyDeleteWhy can't any of you Turner-tards figure out that it is CJ Huff who is in charge and not some disgruntled ex-employee that has been fired for cause in every field of endeavor in which he has bothered to play?
ReplyDeleteHuff has the support of the "Good Ol' Boys" and the Glob and, for now, the population at large. Maybe they know something you Turner-tards do not.
But you idiots would rather be "right" in your own little minds than well paid by those in power.
Is it not hard for thee [Turner-tards] to kick against the pricks [Huff-tards]? Acts 5:5.
I somewhat agree with 2:27 AM posting. People who attack the schools, newspaper and anyone or anything else who has positions of prominence or, if you will, power just seem like has-beens or jealous or just people who resent others. Get over it and do something useful with your lives..every position of influence or power has to have someone to fill it...stop picking on people to satisfy your own insecurities
ReplyDeleteGet a life, Martin. Geez.
ReplyDeleteLook, I have known Anne Sharp for years. She's a good person. Annie really does care about the kids and the schools and the teachers, and she attends pretty much every single school function or sporting event and has for years and years. So I think it's not only inaccurate but also hurtful for folks to say that she is just pretending to care. She loves Joplin schools and the students, and she tries to help the teachers when she can by volunteering in the classrooms and such.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER---she's not the brightest bulb. Annie means well and she is sincere, but she isn't really a leader or a critical thinker. She's parroting things that others have told her and she is simply not smart enough to come up with any real ideas or see through Huff's smokescreen. She deserves some criticism, yes, because while she has not created these problems, she has failed to fix them. But Anne Sharp doesn't deserve to be disrespected by commenters who say that she is phony or that she doesn't care about the teachers---because that's simply not the truth.
Have you heard the rumor about a living with the Dunning-Kruger Effect symposium at the next board meeting?
ReplyDeleteIs no one going to talk about the fact that students have to go to school on MLK day but are out the week after. I find it odd and If I was African American I would probably be offended. Happy MLK day everyone.
ReplyDelete4:02--That didn't make sense.
ReplyDelete4:39--They're out next week for PD. In the past, they have used MLK day as the PD day. I doubt they have any prejudicial reasons for this scheduling. Calendars truly are VERY hard to make.
3:18--You're right. Annie cares very much for the kids. She used to care about the teachers too but she has been listening to Huff and friends and believed every word. Could that Missouri State School Board thing have anything to do with the brain washing.
Annie Sharp use to be someone a teacher could depend on. I wouldn't go as far as saying she doesn't care for the kids but she clearly has changed, and not for the better. It is very sad because she use to be a well respected person around the district and now I just feel people tolerate her and can't wait until she's gone.
ReplyDelete