Sunday, October 15, 2017

FEMA rejects $70 million of Joplin R-8 claims

The full extent of the overspending that took place during the C. J. Huff Administration is finally beginning to take shape.

An Associated Press investigation posted today says that FEMA officials have denied $70 million of reimbursement requests for Joplin R-8 building projects, including one last month.

Reporter David A. Lieb wrote, "The key issue is whether FEMA underestimated the cost to rebuild the schools or whether the district is stretching FEMA rules to try to grasp as much cash as possible for its improved facilities."

When the Turner Report submitted a Sunshine Law request earlier this year asking for documentation of correspondence between FEMA and the Joplin R-8 School District since the beginning of 2016, I was told that the paperwork would fill up numerous boxes and I would be charged an exorbitant amount not only for the copies, but also for all of the research and manpower that it would take to collect the documents and make sure I was not getting any I was not supposed to be receiving. A revised Sunshine Law request was made for copies of denial letters FEMA sent to the district over that time period.

One reason for all of the paperwork, according to the materials I received is that the district tried to overwhelm FEMA with hundreds of pages of documents that had little or nothing to do with the requests.

The FEMA denials presented a clear picture of deadlines for submitting requests that were missed by more than a year, deliberate attempts to ignore agreements with the federal agency and build things the way district officials wanted them built and the hiring of an outside consultant for $3 million on a no-bid contract, an arrangement that continued by allowing the consultant to charge far more than the contractual amount.

The Turner Report investigation also showed that R-8 officials asked FEMA to reimburse the district $44,000 for the planning of work that was never done at Emerson Elementary.

An audio recording revealed that C. J. Huff was already planning to bypass the original arrangement with FEMA when it came to construction of the new schools and Huff acknowledged that the federal agency would not cover any costs except for those that would restore the schools to cover the same area they covered prior to the tornado.

From the May 1, 2017 Turner Report:

During a February 2012 meeting with faculty at East Middle School, former Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff explained the upcoming $62 million bond issue, as well as the way FEMA funding worked.

Though the new East Middle School would be bigger than the one that was destroyed in the May 22, 2011 tornado, FEMA would only pay for the cost of rebuilding East the way it was.

"Just that square footage," Huff said. "Not the additional square footage. They won't pay for an upgrade, I don't think, unless we do some arm-twisting." (Note: Huff's comments are featured in the podcast below.)

The efforts at arm twisting on the East project, Joplin High School and the other new buildings was done late in nearly every instance and was done after the construction work had already been completed.

Though the district continues to file appeals at different levels of FEMA, the odds of success are remote. An Associated Press analysis indicates that FEMA denies two-thirds of final appeals.


15 comments:

Unknown said...


So not getting these funds reimbursed, has what impact on the districts financial outlook moving forward?
Its great to beat this drum, but a better question is, So what?

Anonymous said...

Whether you are re-building a home, business, or non-profit, (especially a non-profit), getting bids is standard practice if you are ethical & a good steward of your money or the shareholder's money. Please give FEMA a transcript of CJ's "arm-twisting" remark. Today's Joplin Globe paints a very benign story of FEMA's denial with undertones that "every little thing is gonna be all right". To explain how stupidly the district acted with "might as well" spending, I asked a school resource officer what students & faculty should do in case of an armed intruder & all the glass in the new schools. He said they should run out of the building to a safe place. In light of the Vegas shooting, students & faculty would be sitting ducks whether inside or outside of the building.

Concerned citizen said...

This ought to be a Crime.FRAUD?..THANKS,Sharp,Steele,Landis,Huff,Barr,and Huff cheerleaders like the Chamber,Good,the brilliant Elites..

Harvey Hutchinson said...

To Audrey Cox
“So what”
So how tall is the tree in your backyard with $70 thousand dollars US on it?
Where in the heavens will this come from???

To the Globe’s comment: benign and every little things gonna be all right: $70,000 USD is NOT a little thing

Harvey HUTCHINSON 303-522-6622 voice&text

Harvey Hutchinson said...

Check that $70 thousand
It’s $70 MILLION USD
Harvey HUTCHINSON 303-522-6622 voice&text

Anonymous said...

The district took a loan out to pay for the overspending. The hope was FEMA would come through with the money. If FEMA doesn't approve the overspending, the district will continue to pay the loan back out of the capitol projects budget and take money away from other needs at the schools that didn't get rebuilt. It will take years to get back to a financially sound place. Those bad decisions will continue to impact the district. All the current people can do is try to minimize what impact it has now. The damage was already done.

Anonymous said...

So the greed of the republicans in Joplin with their little hands out like so many welfare beggars that they so detest is finally coming to light. The whole debacle of the tornado was bad enough, but to be still trying to figure out how to spend it, the corruption by city officials with all that money points to one glaring fact, the republicans in control are crooks with little moral character. Now the citizens working for minimal wages have to pay for inept handling of the whole situation. The worse case is what is being done to American citizens of Puerto Rico and how poorly it has been handled.

Anonymous said...

$70 million?!

BOHICA!!!

Steve Holmes said...

Something here doesn't add up -- and I don't mean just the numbers. The district hired Witt Associates to guide it through the FEMA regulations. If these specialists were on the ball, they have warned Huff & Company against the "might as well" spending and reminded them of the deadlines for billing. Here's what the firm, now Witt O'Brien, says about its Joplin involvement:

"Witt O’Brien’s has counseled the Joplin School District on critical aspects of the PA (my note: Public Assistance, money given to governments and school district] program by highlighting nuances of federal regulations to maximize the District’s disaster recovery awards. Witt O’Brien’s has worked side-by-side with FEMA representatives, conducting site inspections, quantifying cost details, and championing opportunities for the District under the 404 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and 406 Hazard Mitigation Program. Acting as the school’s representative, Witt O’Brien’s has negotiated with FEMA to resolve eligibility issues and gain FEMA’s support to increase PA Grant Program funding awards." (http://www.wittobriens.com/external/content/document/2000/1718603/1/WittOBriens_JoplinSchools_Recovery.pdf)

Either Witt Associates was asleep on the job, or the District ignored its advice. Is there any other answer? If it were shoddy advice, I'd think the District would jump at the chance to shift the blame and perhaps get money in a lawsuit. There's no evidence it did. That tells me the R-8 ignored Witt Associates. I'd like to hear what Witt has to say.

Did you help this guy, Randy? When I find his contact info, I'm going to send him the Witt PR page with the suggestion that a "part two" to the story might be in order.

Anonymous said...

Can someone explain what this means both short-term and long-term for the citizens and how this affects the existing bond commitment?

Randy said...

Steve, I talked with the reporter, David A. Lieb, for the first time today through Twitter and offered to send him a PDF of Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud and he accepted the offer. I agree. There is a lot more that needs to be revealed about this whole deal and a big reason why it is going to be hard to find out is because of the clause in the separation agreement with C. J. Huff that neither side can say anything bad about the other.

Harvey Hutchinson said...

Anonymous 7:16
Why would you bring up “Greed of the Joplin Republicans”; when the School Board is non partisan?
Very few people even know what their party affiliation
is. In case you are not aware, Missouri is s non - State .

And to my friend Steve Holmes: you seem have a handle on the issue better than most; thanks for that input, and for identifying yourself.

Harvey HUTCHINSON 303-522-6622 voice&text

Anonymous said...

Is Witt the same Witt that was a member of Clinton's administration? Seems to me he was involved in other disaster-related consulting controversies.

Steve Holmes said...

7:00, Yes, Witt was Clinton's FEMA director. I am not aware of other disaster-related consulting controversies involving him.

Harvey, thank you for your praise. We disagree on a lot, but I respect the heck out of you putting your name to your opinions.

When was this in the Globe?

Anonymous said...

Not sure why no one is beating on the doors down in Neosho about their own financial scandal. The district accountant, payroll person, accounting clerk have all quit since summer. The assistant supt for finance is on "administrative leave", which means they're trying to figure out how to fire her. Not one article written about it as far as Google knows. My guess - overspending on their fabulous new building...and now they don't have enough to rebuild Goodman. But of course, no one will probably ever figure out what's happened because the paper down there has been gutted and the Globe isn't going to investigate either ... Randy?