Moss contract forbids Huff-like speaking tours

The double dipping speaking tours of the C. J Huff era will not be repeated with newly hired Joplin R-8 Superintendent Melinda Moss.

Moss' contract stipulates that being superintendent is a full time job and should be treated as such:

The superintendent agrees to devote his or her full time, skill, labor, and attention to serving as a superintendent in the district during the term of this contract, and will not engage in any pursuit that interferes with the proper discharge of his or her administrative duties.

The superintendent may not undertake consultation work, speaking engagements, writing, teaching a college or university course, lecturing, or other professional duties and obligations without prior approval from the Board. The Board will grant approval so long as such other work would not, in the Board's opinion, interfere in a material and/or substantial way with the superintendent's obligations set forth in this contract.

While the board would likely grant approval within reason, the contract should serve to prevent a repeat of C. J. Huff's "How I Saved Joplin" speaking tour, which took Huff away from Joplin for weeks at a time, with most of them taking place during the work week. Huff was paid for some of the speeches, with the Washington Speakers Bureau indicating he charged $8,000 plus travel expenses for a speech, while others were to promote Bright Futures USA, which was not a Joplin R-8 organization.

From the September 10, 2014 Turner Report:

For the first time board members are checking to see if these trips are being taken on vacation or off time or if they are being done at times when Huff and Vann are supposed to be working for the taxpayers.

Information has been provided to state auditors that claims Vann has created two calendars, one for the public and the media and the other to help Huff keep track of his various outside speaking engagements and activities that are taking place to aid the expansion of Bright Futures USA.

That separation also seems to be designed to keep Board of Education members blissfully unaware of the extent of non-school business, seemingly designed to build C. J. Huff's brand name, conducted on the taxpayers' dime.

A partial list of C. J. Huff's 2014 activities is printed below:

Thursday, Jan. 23- Wisconsin Association of School Boards

Thursday, Feb. 20- Columbia- An Evening With C. J. Huff- Council of PTAs

Tuesday, June 3- Bright Futures USA training session for Hazelwood Bright Futures

Monday,July 14, -Wednesday, July 16- National School Public Relations Association, Baltimore, Maryland. (panel discussion)

Thursday, July 17- Bright Futures USA presentation in Beaufort County, North Carolina

Tuesday, July 22 Tenth Annual Arkansas Safe Schools Conference, North Little Rock

Monday, August 11- Bright Futures USA morning speech in Pea Ridge, Arkansas

Friday, September 5- Mid-morning speech at Kansas City Rotary Convention

(Upcoming)

Thursday, September 25, Friday, September 26- Speeches in Chicago, Illinois


Monday, October 13, Tuesday, October 14- Bright Futures USA Conference, Missouri Southern State University, Joplin

Tuesday,November 18- Saskatchewan School Boards Association

And that was just a partial list.

The Moss contract calls for the following:

-$180,000 a year salary, with increases for the 2018-2019 school year and the 2019-2020 school year equal to the percentage raise received by teachers.

-Insurance coverage, sick leave, personal leave, and holidays will be the same as the benefits for other professional employees in the district.

-a $450 a month transportation allowance

-$100 a month mobile data/telephone allowance

-10 days paid vacation this year and 20 days thereafter

-Moss must live within the district, though she has six months to relocate following her July 1 starting date.

(Photo: Melinda Moss addresses the board and the audience shortly after her introduction as the new Joplin R-8 superintendent tonight.)