In less than two years, six of the seven members of the Joplin R-8 Board of Education have either resigned, decided not to run for re-election, or have been booted out by the voters.
The latest resignation, that of Randy Steele, who has been a board member since 2008 (he and Superintendent C. J. Huff arrived at about the same time), was received by the board just prior to its Tuesday night meeting, according to a story posted less than an hour ago on the Joplin Globe website.
Steele told the Globe he was under too much pressure in trying to find the seventh board member to replace former Joplin Police Chief Lane Roberts. "The focus is gone. I've had enough," Steele told the newspaper.
The only remaining board member from April 2013 is Mike Landis, who has been on the board since 2001. Landis' term ends in 2016.
Of the other board members, two former board presidents, Anne Sharp and Jeff Flowers were soundly defeated by the voters, two others, Phil Willcoxon and Jim Kimbrough decided not to run again (though Kimbrough applied for the vacant board seat and is one of the finalists) and two, Steele and Dawn Sticklen, resigned.
Wow!
ReplyDeleteSo.....what happens next?
ReplyDeleteSays BEFORE the meeting. Will it take 3 now to elect new member? They should do them both at once, thus it will only take 3 for both of them...why was it not acted on at the meeting?
ReplyDeleteOne more of CJ's minions has deserted a sinking ship. Next up, Mike Landis. Although I think he will have to have a little help getting off the ship when he is voted off. Now maybe we can get new board members, ones who can actually make a positive difference!
ReplyDeleteUnless someone else resigns (see the Missouri Revised Statutes, Section 162.261.1), it's the end game for Huff. The board now has an odd number of members with an anti-Huff 3-2 majority. Maybe that was why he was reported to be so quiet during this meeting....
ReplyDeleteAnother thought:
ReplyDeleteThis was presumably a surprise to at least the anti-Huff board members. Going forward with the deadlock broken and their knowing they can now take effective action instead of merely stopping Huff's excesses, we ought to be seeing even more interesting board meetings and results.
With his resignation submitted prior to the BOE meeting, does that make the 3-2 vote stand?
ReplyDeleteIn theory then, is there any incentive for the 3 to even try to fill the vacancies?
ReplyDeleteWith a 3-2 advantage they effectively set and control the agenda. Will be interesting to see if we suddenly get the school board version of the blue flu to try to keep from establishing a quorum.
Steele's resignation wasn't accepted at Tuesday's meeting. So it would seem 4 would still have been the number in play.
ReplyDelete11:05 AM: They have an incentive that if they pick the right people, the position of the pro-Huff 2 will become even more untenable, with lots of 5-2 votes and opposition coming from 5 people instead of 3. But if they pick wrong, they go back to a deadlock or lose with a pro-Huff 3-4 majority, and all three of them have proven to be able to handle the pressure.
ReplyDeleteAs of now it would appear to be an academic question, so to speak, since the pro-Huff 2 are not going to allow anyone even appearing to be anti-Huff (I have serious doubts about Kimbrough, who for the most part rubber stamped Huff until Huff made such a spectacle that it couldn't be ignored).
I wonder if the Huff regime is a bit nervous today? They should be.
ReplyDeleteThe new majority learns of this resignation just before the meeting begins.
ReplyDeleteA very smart move imo to stay the course in attempting to elect the member they wanted, and do nothing else until they carefully study the ins and outs of the new reality.
CJ: Woulda Shoulda Coulda?
Options lessening?
Full ante or fold?
LMAO!!!
9:32
ReplyDeleteHobson's choice vs. Morton's fork vs dilemma!
After reading the link it seems apparent the move left for the Huffites is an additional resignation in order to throw the replacement appointment process to the county commission.
@11:19 Well put. It blows my mind that no one mentions ol' flip-floppin Jimmy. I guess everyone forgot his long tenured membership in " CJ's 7-0 Club". Until at least the last 6 months or so. Sorry, but as Public Enemy stated: "Can't Truss It"
ReplyDelete12:05 PM: I knew of the concept, but didn't know Morton's fork was named and formally described (well, I am after all a product of the Joplin R-VIII school district :-). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd now we're seeing there's yet another person who can resign and change the game.