In the post, which was titled Bright Futures Plan: The Only Thing Missing is Magic Beans, it was noted that an assistant for Winston was being paid $35,000 a year, a cost that had once been paid by a grant, but was then absorbed by the taxpayers after the grant ran out.
Commenters noted that a lot of people who were not receiving snack packs could be fed for the amount of money being paid to Winston and the assistant.
Winston left the following comment this morning on that post:
Is a take home salary of $26K for a person with a Master's Degree and 20 years of experience really considered high for the level of responsibility and amount of work being done? I think we need to be reasonable here, folks.
Have people not been reasonable when it comes to Bright Futures. Readers, what do you think?
19 comments:
Didn't they say they have over 600 volunteers? Would it be reasonable to get their help and spend the money on the kids' needs??
Why in the world would Ms Winston need an assistant in the first place? She can do her own "work" for once. An assistant for that piddly program is a waste of money, which indeed, could be used to feed more Joplin kids in the snack pack program.
If you have a masters degree and 20 years experience and only make 26 grand a year, you must be a real dummy or you are basically unemployable anywhere else
Take-home pay = More manipulating the numbers. What's gross and benefits? And, yes, it's too much for a made-up job. BF funds were donated "For The Kids" to meet their needs. They were not intended to support another layer of administrators (two of you, really?!?). Easy solution: Divide the money among the schools, proportional to the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. The teachers, counselors and principals can certainly get it to those in need; they've done it for years quietly, often with their own money, or support from community agencies.
Maybe the question isn't "Is $35,000 a fair salary for a program assistant?" Perhaps the real question should be "Why does a program that serves about 1.5 students a day (number served divided by 365) need two full time employees and hundreds of volunteers?" That many people should be able to help significantly more students. Remember, often the "needs" are met by donors in the moment and don't actually require anything directly from BF. They are the middle man making the connection. I guess I don't understand why so many people are required to help so few students.
"Why does a program that serves about 1.5 students a day (number served divided by 365) need two full time employees....
Well, in all fairness they are a part of Huff's publicity machine. A man of such modest talents would not have gotten hardly so far without many well paid people puffing up his image.
Making $26k/year with a Master's and 20 years experience is a small sum... for someone who is employed somewhere other than a not-for-profit.
A small, local charity doesn't need numerous salaried officers. Most grassroots organizations begin with people believing in the cause and volunteering to help whilst keeping day-jobs.
If she wants to run a 501(c)(3) and make bank, she should consider the religion business.
"If she wants to run a 501(c)(3) and make bank, she should consider the religion business."
Not sure what "religious" business you are thinking about but I assure you this pastor is not rolling in the dough and I work full time in a secular job PLUS pastor a church full time.
Hey....wait a minute....what do you think teachers take home pay is----with a Master's Degree and 20 years experience? I do not think it is because we are unemployable elsewhere, in response to comment above, but perhaps "dummies" is accurate.....
I bring home $28,000 a year and work for the district. I buy snacks and things for my students every month, but I can't afford to go to the doctor. Let's be reasonable about what teachers are asked to live on.
10:50AM
You are clueless if you think that is the only program they operate! Educate yourself!
This is 10:50. Thanks for the comment, 6:15. "Educating myself" is exactly why I said maybe we need to be asking a different question. My inquiry is because I wish to be further educated regarding the topic. No one can judge if the salary is fair unless we know exactly how many students are being served and in what ways. My thinking is that building counselors are doing some of the work, the partners (faith-based, businesses, parents, volunteers) are doing some of the work, and the director and assistant are doing some of the work. With that many people playing a part, a huge number of kids should be served. How many is it? Is it enough to justify two salaries?
I will tell you what I think - I think that it is time that they actually serve the kids they are suppose to and not themselves!! They are more concerned with themselves and keeping their salaries, then they are with helping kids. Dollars were donated to help fed and clothe kids, not pay for salaries!!! The numbers they provided at the board meeting were laughable. Out of the 8,000 kids in Joplin they help less that 1% each year!!!! Seriously!!! But they need two full time people making a combined amount of 80,000 + .... if we leave it at that we won't need to worry about this because they will have fleeced all the tornado money donated to the school just in time to find new jobs elsewhere!! They need to stop thinking about themselves and think about the kids. For all the good they are supposedly doing, there are a lot of kids in Joplin that smell, have holes in their clothes and need shoes, but their referral process to get help makes staff not ask, because when they do they get turned down!!!!
As usual, led by their fearless leader, Turner sets his sights on anything that is or was associated with CJ Huff. Every article is tainted by his bitterness and anger toward a district that justly fired him. As he was from every other job he's ever held. Now, as a faithful keyboard commando, he fires arrows at anyone he can.
He knows what happens to district employees pay packages, as he was one. Instead of applauding the number of kids who now eat that used to go hungry, let's focus on what will cause division and hatred. So, what happens when the program goes away, the funds are gone, and those kids start to go hungry? How many of you are going to volunteer your time? How many of you volunteer your time now? How many of you do anything other than get on your keyboard and bitch and moan about what Turner writes? None of you!
Why would a person with her experience and education work for crumbs? Like so many of our teachers and administrators, they do the job because they love the kids. Plain and simple.
9:06 - Hope is still alive. Turner provides a safe place to comment and question programs and institutions without fear of reprisal. Based on their responses, many commenters are inside the operations that have historically given their talents and treasure to keep children fed, clothed and educated. Even before the tornado, communities cared for their kids. Many are on the frontlines, not the sidelines. Consider this: Rather than division and hatred, questions and discussion indicate concern and hope.
Considering Melissa's Master's degree came from an online school, I doubt that she's even qualified to be running BF Joplin. The only people who get hired on there are the bosom buddies of Kim Vann; hence how Melissa got her job. So fire Melissa and hire someone how is actually worthy of the BF Joplin Coordinator salary.
You are clueless if you think that is the only program they operate! Educate yourself!
Here's the point, 6:15 PM. Providing direct assistance to students in need should be the ONLY program. The other programs and the salaried staff required in implementing them siphon money that should be spent directly on students. The latest budget report shows that in 2014-15, almost two years, only 11% of Bright Futures funds had been spent directly on kids. For every $10 donated to help children in need, $8.90 went somewhere else. That's why people are upset, and it shouldn't be that hard to understand. I believe Dr. Ridder said the focus of Bright Futures needs to be narrowed to address the health and hygiene of students in need. In other words, to bring it back to its original intent before it ballooned into what it is now, expensive and ineffective. If the Board would do that, the money would go where it should be going, and considering the number of district employees who work in the administration building,it should not require hiring coordinators and paying additional salaries to get the job done.
Divide the money among the schools, proportional to the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. The teachers, counselors and principals can certainly get it to those in need; they've done it for years quietly, often with their own money, or support from community agencies.
10:38 AM, this is a great idea. I hope Dr. Ridder and the board see it. Paul Barr does the math, allocates funds to the schools, and a committee at each school (principal, counselor, teachers from each grade level)spend the money as needed to help the students in their own building. They are the ones who work every day with the kids in their building and best know who needs what. The middlemen are taken out of the process, the whole thing is simplified, no money is eaten up by administrative expenses, and the district has oversight in how the money is spent. Each building would just submit a report to Paul Barr's office showing how they disbursed their funds. Sounds fair and efficient to me.
Regarding Paul Barr......I'd like to see him in court under oath to explain the district's expenditures during Huff's tenure.
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