Lankford to present plan to pay off R-8 loans, put district's finances in solid position

The Joplin R-8 Board of Education has launched a search for an assistant superintendent who will handle the chief financial officer duties that were handled by Paul Barr, who retired last year.

Currently, the position is being handled by former Webb City R-7 Superintendent Ron Lankford, but retired administrators are limited in the number of hours they can work a year and still collection their pensions and Lankford will not be able to work past the end of March.

The time Lankford has spent with the district has been productive.

At Tuesday's 7 p.m. board meeting in the Memorial Administration building, Lankford is scheduled to present a plan that he says will enable the district to pay off its outstanding loans and come out ahead.

Even after the hiring of the new assistant superintendent, board members hope to work out a plan that will enable the district to continue to be able to take advantage of Lankford's knowledge and expertise.

The following ad was posted on the district website earlier this week:

Assistant Superintendent for Business Services

Job Description