Video- Tour provided for new Joplin High School/Franklin Tech

A Jet 14 production

C. J. Huff in national magazine: My vision moved Joplin forward

(The following article is reprinted courtesy of Emergency Management magazine and can be found at this link.)

The EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011, spent 32 minutes on the ground. In that brief period, the twister managed to inflict immense damage.

The storm, which featured winds exceeding 200 mph, killed 161 people and destroyed more than 25 percent of the city, including 7,000 homes and nearly 2,000 buildings. It was the deadliest single U.S. tornado since 1953.

And the twister didn’t spare Joplin schools. Twenty of the school district’s buildings were damaged or destroyed, causing more than $100 million in damage and leaving more than 4,000 students without a school to attend.

“The tornado seemed to take a direct hit on the schools,” said Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr. “But we were fortunate it happened on a Sunday afternoon and not on a school day.”

As the city battled shock and confusion in the wake of the disaster, Rohr, Joplin Schools Superintendent C.J. Huff and other city leaders concluded that moving ahead with plans to repair the city would be key to the healing process.

“I can’t even begin to describe the sights, sounds and smells of what I experienced,” said Huff. “It was an abysmal feeling. We were in a very bad place as a community. But you can’t just stay in that place. So we started talking about what the future would look like and making plans right away.”

Read about the three priorities that helped rebuild Joplin's schools.

A few days later, Huff announced his intention to the school board: Joplin schools would open again in time for the fall semester, which was just 84 days away.  

“Making that declaration was important for a number of reasons,” he said. “It created a vision and helped us to stop focusing on the despair. Instead, everyone started thinking about how we were going to pull together to get our schools back online in time for the next school year.”

The Search for Space

In all, Joplin lost more than 600,000 square feet of educational space. The process of finding temporary classrooms for 4,000 kids and repairing the damaged schools was at first overwhelming.

“Obviously you don’t have a game plan for something of this magnitude,” Huff said. “But we started by working with the local Chamber of Commerce, real estate agents and the Army Corps of Engineers to find large, open spaces that could be modified to meet our school needs.”

Among the first priorities was creating an interim high school. The devastated Joplin High, which had served 2,200 students just before the disaster, had been the city’s only high school.

“Not only was the high school important because of the number of students that attended, but also because, as high school students, these would be the last memories of their K-12 education,” Huff said. “We wanted to treat our kids right and make sure the facilities were high-quality, even though they were temporary.”

The city secured 100,000 square feet of vacant retail space at the north end of Joplin’s largest mall, once occupied by a Shopko department store. Corner Greer & Associates of Joplin was selected to retrofit the space and transform it into an educational area. Designers and contractors had just 55 business days to complete the job. They not only had to be fast, they also had to be creative in working with limitations. For example, the kitchen and science labs had to be housed in modular trailers outside the building.

Because of limited space at the mall facility, the Joplin School District chose to use the space only for juniors and seniors (approximately 1,100 students). Freshmen and sophomores were sent to Memorial Middle School, which wasn’t hit by the tornado. Other temporary facilities were constructed or retrofitted in various locations to accommodate the rest of Joplin’s students. Huff said the biggest challenge was retrofitting an 80,000-square-foot industrial warehouse that had nothing but a gravel floor — it didn’t even have windows, air conditioning or power.

“We did a lot of juggling to make all the puzzle pieces fit,” Huff said. “It was a full-court press for each of those 84 days.”

In the end, the city successfully found facilities for all its students and the new school year started on time.

New Beginnings

Once students were in their temporary facilities, city officials turned their attention to replacing what had been lost. Rebuilding Joplin schools had one distinct advantage — starting from scratch gave school officials an opportunity to improve both safety and the learning environment. Each of the new schools built or under construction has one or more FEMA-compliant EF5-rated tornado shelters.

“All of our schools will now have safe places for all the children,” Huff said. “That’s important, obviously from a safety perspective, but also from a mental health perspective. Our district has 7,747 kids, and about 40 percent of those kids lived in the direct path of the tornado. Most of them experienced an EF5 tornado up close and personal, and lost everything in the storm. They need that peace of mind, as do the parents. Post-traumatic stress is still very prevalent here.”

The shelters will also be open to the community 24/7. By the time all construction is complete this August, Joplin schools will have enough room to shelter approximately 15,000 people.

In addition to improving safety, Joplin officials took the opportunity to incorporate 21st-century learning environments into the new schools. District leaders engaged high school staff, students, administrators and parents to brainstorm new ideas. A team of administrators toured tech-savvy schools around the country, as well as innovative companies like Apple in Cupertino, Calif., to examine cutting-edge work environments.

“We didn’t take the traditional approach to school construction,” Huff said. “We are creating schools that have a very open environment and collaborative spaces.”

The new schools have moveable walls that allow educators to create flexible spaces where students can collaborate in large and small groups. In addition, small group “think tank” areas are located in all the new buildings.

Technology also plays a key role. Franklin Technology Center will be incorporated into the new Joplin High School, and thanks to a $1 million donation from the United Arab Emirates Embassy, all 2,200 Joplin high school students now have a dual-platform laptop computer. All new buildings are also wired for current and future technology opportunities.

From a curriculum perspective, Huff said they have developed a new Career Pathway framework for course delivery.

“In essence we will be creating interdisciplinary teams that are in the process of delivering rigorous, project-based instruction in the students’ areas of interest,” he said. “We have five broad career pathways kids can choose from.”

Care was also taken to ensure the new school buildings would be efficient. While they won’t be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rated due to the high cost of certification, the buildings were built with sustainability in mind, with everything from the materials used, to rain water collection for irrigation, to natural daylighting, and motion on/off switches in the classrooms. In addition, the new Joplin High School has a conduit in place to incorporate solar power once it becomes cost effective.

Moving Forward

Though the 2011 tornado left a permanent scar on Joplin, Huff and Rohr are thankful something good came out of the wreckage. In January 2014, students moved into two new elementary schools and a new middle school. The permanent high school will be complete in August. The schools will not only be stronger, safer and better equipped to handle another tornado should one occur, but they also have the distinction of being some of the most advanced learning spaces in the U.S.

“We took the design of our new schools very seriously, and we went above and beyond to research best practices from a learning standpoint as well as from a construction standpoint,” Huff said. “When all is said and done, we’ll have some pretty amazing new schools that are efficient, cost effective and innovative.”

This story was originally published by Emergency Management magazine

Joplin R-8 School Board candidate failed to pay taxes

During the Joplin R-8 Board of Education candidate forum Monday night at Corley Auditorium on the Missouri Southern State University campus, candidate Shawn McGrew had no problem fielding a question on school finances from KOAM reporter Lisa Olliges.

"A huge part of what we're responsible for is fiscal responsibility for taxpayer dollars," McGrew said, beginning his answer. He ended by noting again that "fiscal responsibility is what we have to be focused on."

McGrew's assessment was correct, but documents on file in Jasper County Circuit Court  indicate McGrew, who wants to be elected to a position where he would be responsible for millions of dollars, has had problems with his own finances.

The Missouri Department of Revenue slapped Nathan Shawn McGrew with a tax lien on August 23, 2013, according to court records. The document says McGrew owed $1,246.14- $1,236.19 for unpaid 2009 personal income taxes and a $9.95 penalty.

An October 28, 2013, filing from the Department of Revenue's Collection Enforcement division indicates McGrew paid what he owed.

The income tax lien was not the only financial problem the board candidate faced in 2013, according to the court documents. Judge Richard Copeland awarded Mid-America Accounts Control Bureau, a collection agency, a $735.96 judgment against McGrew on May 14, 2013. That included $460 McGrew owed and $275.96 in interest. In addition, McGrew was charged $318 for court costs, including sheriff's fees and process server fees.

Court records show McGrew's wages at Freeman Health were garnished until the judgment was satisfied on November 1, 2013.

Huff to Jet 14 audience: I have no shame whatsoever in how we handled our funds

When you have Jet 14 and endless reruns, you do not even need to accept money from the Joplin Progress Committee.

During the last 10 minutes of the Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting, which ended moments ago and was televised live on taxpayer-supported Jet 14, Superintendent C. J. Huff spent time praising the work done by the Board, including, of course (but not mentioned by name) Board President Jeff Flowers and Randy Steele, who happen to be running for re-election in the April 8 election.

The speech, something Huff said he just had to say, came at the end of the meeting and addressed many of the items that were brought up, and not handled well, by Flowers and Steele at last night's candidate forum.

Huff addressed the 8 to 10 percent fund balance, which has been criticized (and which one board member said a few moments ago may dip down to seven percent) and said the board had done what was necessary to keep school going and that everything was done for the children.

"I have no shame whatsoever in how we handled our funds," Huff said.

The superintendent indicated that you have to be on the inside to understand how school finances work. "It's hard for the community to understand."

The handling of the district's finances under the Huff Administration was a target of board candidates Jeff Koch and Debbie Fort during the candidate forum, even though Huff was never mentioned by name.

While Huff's impassioned defense of the board's handling of money centered around the completion of the new buildings and paying for facilities for the students to attend school while those buildings were under construction, the superintendent never mentioned the main areas of overspending that were attacked by Mrs. Fort and Koch.

Not once did he mention that staffing at the Central Administration office has tripled since he became superintendent, a fact that Mrs. Fort cited, and one which can be verified by examining Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education records.

 Nor did Huff talk about the increased travel, including nearly $100,000 hopscotching the nation on a thank-you tour. Jeff Flowers told the Joplin Globe last year that all of Huff's travel had been approved by the Board of Education.

Other travel has included trip after trip to one seminar and conference after another with many teachers missing numerous days. Mrs. Fort noted Monday night that one of her teachers was pulled out of class for 40 days, nearly one out of every four-and-a-half days of school, to attend administration-mandated seminars.

Also left unaddressed by Huff was the addition of layer after layer of lower-level administrators or quasi-administrators, such as the teaching/learning coaches, 21st Century coaches, and career pathway directors, none of whom are in the classroom working with children.

During the board forum, David Guilford and Mrs. Fort ripped into the board for its lack of transparency. Huff also addressed that criticism. "We're very transparent," Huff said, though he gave no examples to counter the criticisms leveled by Guilford and Mrs. Fort.

Huff attempted to give answers to questions that left Flowers and Steele stumped the previous evening.

Essentially, with an election that started with a slumber party at the Administration Building, with board members using their own keys to allow themselves and Administration-favored candidates to wait in a warm building, using district wireless technology and other amenities, and which is scheduled to end with a perfectly timed election morning thank-you breakfast at East Middle School for Bright Futures volunteers, C. J Huff has once again shown a willingness to use taxpayer-supported facilities to get what he wants.

Debbie Fort's tornado statement nowhere to be found in Joplin Globe coverage

No statement drew as much attention Monday night during the Joplin R-8 Board of Education Candidate Forum than Debbie Fort's response to incumbent board member Randy Steele's attempt to blame high teacher turnover in the Joplin School District on the tornado.

"I am sick to death of blaming the tornado," she said.

While her statement was specifically in response to a question about teacher turnover and she offered other, more logical causes for the mass exit of teachers from the district, Debbie Fort said the words that many people have been thinking for a long time- it is time to stop using the tornado as a crutch for everything.

It has been used as an excuse not only for high teacher turnover, but also for incredible overspending of taxpayer money and for sweeping changes that seem to be designed more for show than for actual educational value.

With that one sentence, Debbie Fort sounded a "stop the nonsense" rallying cry that was easily the top moment in the one hour forum.

Naturally, the quote did not make today's Joplin Globe coverage.

To be fair, reporter Emily Younker did hit some of the other high points of the forum, including Board President Jeff Flowers' comment "I think we're open and honest in everything we do," and David Guilford's retort that the board's policy on public comment is "closing the door completely on the taxpayer. I think it's wrong and it's very detrimental to our district and our students."

So why didn't Debbie Fort's comment make the pages of the area's newspaper of record?

Sadly, no entity has been move invested in prolonging the story of Joplin's continued suffering from the tornado than the Joplin Globe.

My guess is Emily Younker had no idea how Debbie Fort's line would resonate with the public.

Bright Futures schedules Election Day thank-you breakfast for volunteers

Superintendent C. J. Huff appears to be leaving no stone unturned in his effort to put the people he wants in the three open seats on the Joplin R-8 Board of Education.

When the filing period for the April election opened, a slumber party was arranged in the Administration Building at 32nd and Duquesne, circumventing filing rules and enabling Huff's favored candidates, incumbents Jeff Flowers and Randy Steele, Shawn McGrew, who has been heavily involved in Huff's Bright Futures organization, and Lynda Banwart, who spearheaded the successful bond issue drive that resulted in the construction of East Middle School, Irving Elementary School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and the combined Joplin High School/Franklin Technical Center to receive favored places on the ballot. Studies have shown over and over that people who are uncertain about whom to vote for tend to vote for the first names. Thanks to the board members using their own keys to ensure they would be first in line, the order will read Flowers, McGrew, Steele, Banwart.

That was how the race for board of education began- with the Jeff Flowers/C. J. Huff group putting its thumbs on the scale of the election process.

It looks like the race will end in the same fashion.

The taxpayer-supported Bright Futures has scheduled a volunteer thank-you breakfast for 7:30 to 9 a.m. on election day, Tuesday, April 8.

The event not only will be funded by Bright Futures, but will be held in a facility that was also financed by the taxpayers, the new East Middle School.

It certainly has the appearance of a get-out-the-vote rally in everything except name.

Do these people have no shame?

Shawn McGrew: We have to be proud of what Bright Futures has accomplished

In an interview with KZRG from earlier in the week, Joplin R-8 Board of Education candidate Shawn McGrew says we need to be focused on "maintaining our best and brightest teachers," but never acknowledges that there is a teacher turnover problem in the district.

The same approach is used with a question on the financial problems facing the district. McGrew notes that it is important to make sure the students have the technology they need and that some of the older buldings in the district be brought up to date, but never acknowledges that the district has a money problem.

On the subject of Common Core Standards, McGrew says he has some concerns about them, including data collection and making sure that all schools have the technology to deal with the online testing Common Core requires. He does not say, however, how he feels about Common Core.

McGrew does get specific about the effect of Bright Futures on the Joplin school district. McGrew, who has been deeply involved with the program, noted the difference it has made to R-8 students, and that the program has expanded to include 22 districts in six states.

"We have to be very proud of what we have accomplished."

C. J. Huff to Wisconsin educators: I didn't ask my school board for permission; I just did it

The 2009 death of an 11-year-old Joplin boy during a "drinking contest" started by his aunt and uncle was featured prominently during a speech at the January 24 Wisconsin State Education Conference in Madison.

Though the speaker did not mention the child by name, he told the story of a child who was saddled with problems the moment he was born. 

"There are some kids," he said, introducing the story, "we must get away from their mothers at birth and dads."

The speaker, C. J. Huff, said during his first year as superintendent of the Joplin R-8 School District, "I had a third grade boy, great kid. His mom and dad were absent. I think His dad was in jail; his mom was always out partying. He was left in the care of his 'in quotes' aunt and uncle. That night, the aunt challenged him to a drinking contest. Jack Daniels."

Breaking into tears, Huff said, "He died in his sleep that night. It made headline in the paper, front page stuff. The aunt and uncle were convicted. Good kid, he was raising his brother and sister. He made a mistake, a fatal mistake."

Huff indicated that the story of the boy's death and the drinking game did not make much of a splash in Joplin. It was not even on the front page of the newspaper, he said. "Our community, even though it was in the paper one time did not know that story."

Huff said he felt he had to tell these kinds of stories to let people know what he and the people in the Joplin school district have to deal with every day.

If the boy had survived the drinking contest, Huff said, "if he had not died in his sleep, he would have been taking the state assessment test with a hangover."

Huff told the Wisconsin educators they had to tell the politicians the truth about what is happening with children.

During his one hour speech, Huff told the story of the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, and how he was proud of "the team I have and my school board. I will take credit for hiring some great people," he added.

Huff also recounted the story of his promise, made two days after the tornado, that school would start on time in the Joplin R-8 School District. "I didn't ask my school board for permission," he said. "I just did it."

He then talked about the work that was done to arrange temporary schools for those whose buildings were destroyed by the tornado.

After opening his presentation with stories about the tornado, Huff talked about the difference Bright Futures has made in the Joplin Schools and how much the graduation rate has gone up since he arrived in 2008.

He ended the speech, saying that though he had once considered the first day of the 2011-2012 school year to be his greatest day as an educator, it had been replaced by one he had just lived through one week earlier- the opening of the new East Middle School, Irving Elementary School, and Soaring Heights Elementary School.

Ethics Commission report shows Lynda Banwart committee terminated

No explanation is given or any documents shown, but the Missouri Ethics Commission website shows that the Lynda Banwart for School Board Committee has been terminated only one day after its statement of organization was filed.

Other than the statement of organization, the committee's only filing had been a 48-hour report indicating Mrs. Banwart's husband, Dr. J. Christopher Banwart, had contributed $13,400 to his wife's campaign.

The Joplin Progress Committee has also reported giving $1,000 to the Banwart campaign.

Alone in his bunker- the C. J. Huff story

It is  not a problem most of us will ever have to face.

Alone in his bunker at 32nd and Duquesne, C. J. Huff had a serious decision to make- Should he put "hero of the Joplin Tornado" at the top of his resume or should he put it somewhere slightly lower on the first page and show that he has remained a modest man in spite of all of the acclaim that has come his way since May 22, 2011?

People had been telling him for the past two years that he needed to cash in while he was still a hot commodity and they were not just talking about the frequent speeches he has made all across the country.

Other jobs were out there, other school districts, business possibilities, maybe even becoming a full-time motivational speaker. He had enjoyed the interaction with those who attended his presentations and the news clippings, all of which mentioned either that he had been brought to tears or he was at the brink of tears as he related the events of May 22 and the days afterward.

But C. J. Huff stayed in Joplin where he was loved. He had to be loved; his Bright Futures partners told him so.

Little by little, the hero facade that was erected around C. J. Huff after the tornado began fading away as he said things that reminded people of the days before May 22 when he was a mortal just like the rest of us.

-When more than 200 teachers left the district in two years, he said it was because their spouses had found jobs in other communities. That made sense. When the husbands get jobs, the little women have to follow.

-When he spent thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on a thank you tour at a time when district funds were dwindling. The people who helped Joplin would have appreciated phone calls and sincere thank-you letters just as much.

-When he, with the unanimous stamp of approval of the R-8 Board of Education, submitted a five-year strategic plan that called for the district reserves to fall to as low as eight percent, but to miraculously climb back up to 25 percent, even though no efforts were being made to curb spending.

-When he made a call to an employer and suggested it would not be a good idea that if an employee decided to run for Board of Education.

-When he made references to being a conservative and about conservatives having pitchforks and torches.

It has been one thing after another and it has not helped that during the past few months, he has had federal and state officials on his back about nagging paltry little things like proper use of Title I funds and questionable practices that led to higher graduation rates.

How could anyone question the graduation rates? Would the Joplin R-8 School District have spent $3,000 for a party for local businessman to announce an 85 percent graduation rate if it were not so?

C. J. Huff may have missed the best time to leave, but signs that he should be looking have been all around him for the past few months.

Though he was never really that close with Angie Besendorfer, she had been able to take care of the day-to-day management of the school district while Huff busied himself with the herculean tasks of increasing the graduation rates and continuing to build a Bright Futures empire.

When she resigned, all of a sudden Huff found himself surrounded by people whose chief loyalty was to Besendorfer and not to him. Even worse, many of the people were not qualified for the positions they held. Some lacked the proper degrees; most had little, if any experience, and many of the people who were there had not been hired because of any management ability or any outstanding knowledge of education, but because they were willing to do, without question, anything Besendorfer asked them to do. Huff needed a bulldog to do the kinds of things that Besendorfer had done and fortunately, he had one in human resources director Tina Smith. She was not really qualified to be a chief operating officer, but that approach had worked for Besendorfer, and this would enable him to continue to concentrate on graduation rates, Bright Futures and spreading the gospel of the Joplin Tornado across the nation.

Still, despite having someone else to handle the day-to-day operation of the school district, C. J. Huff has been a worried man. There are people running for the board of education who want to change the way he does things, maybe even force him out.
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How can you force out the hero of the Joplin Tornado?

The sunset of C. J. Huff's time with the Joplin R-8 School District seems to be at hand. He sits alone in his bunker, surrounded by people who have never been loyal to him, guiding hundreds of people who have been in fear of Angie Besendorfer, Mike Johnson, or Tina Smith.

The idea that he was a man of the people, who just happened to be surrounded by autocratic administrators who have ruled by keeping the district's employees in fear of losing their jobs, is no longer held. Even those who have been long-time supporters of Huff know that it is he, no one else, who is ultimately responsible for the waves of teachers and staff members who have left the district.

Huff can look out his door and see Bright Futures, but there are no bright futures on his horizon.

The Joplin R-8 Board, C. J. Huff, and the spending spree that has endangered the school district

When I was in newspapers, we had a saying (and they still use it today) that you never want to bury the lead.

My friends at KZRG buried the lead earlier this week when they interviewed Joplin R-8 Board of Education member Randy Steele. Steele, who has been on the board throughout the tenure of Superintendent C. J. Huff, talked about the financial problems facing the school district and admitted, "We have overspent."

How have you overspent?

Why have you overspent?

Just how bad is the school district's financial condition?

How are we going to get out of this dire situation?

Those were questions that probably should have been asked, but there was no follow-up. The district is heading toward what its own strategic plan says will be an eight percent reserve this year, but will somehow (according to the same strategic plan, which is on the district's website) get the reserves up to 25 percent by 2015...less than 10 months from now.

Randy Steele volunteered that the district will seek grants. Steele may not realize it, in fact, it is clear he does not, but grants are a major part of what has put the district in its current financial trouble. Most of the grants are for new programs and call for new hires, almost of whom are not in the classroom. The biggest problem is that the grants run out, but the school district continues with its programs, absorbing them into the general revenue fund.

A grant started the spy network and administrator training ground called learning coaches. The grant long since ran out, but the school district has continued to pay for the positions and even added to them.

The district has added dozens of counselors to help students deal with problems following the tornado. At the Feb. 25 meeting, Huff said the grant for one of those programs would run out soon, and he gave every indication the district would find some way to pay for those.

The same mindset was evident in the R-8 School District's federal Race to the Top application, approved 7-0 by the board, including Steele and Board President Jeff Flowers, who are running for re-election.

Grants are not the way to get the district out of its precarious financial situation. Neither is selling the naming rights to every building and classroom in sight.

I detailed the spending in the November 17 Turner Report and things have not improved since then:

Over the past few months, the spending has remained at all-time high levels. At a time when the taxpayers are already paying nearly $100,000 a month to rent the mall high school and $36,000 a month for the East Middle School warehouse, the following expenditures have been reported.

-The board approved spending at least $30,000 to send 15 administrators to Washington, D. C. for a conference.

-An additional $15,000 was approved so 15 employees could update Facebook pages.

-Huff plunked down $2,783.88 of taxpayers' money to pay for a celebration banquet where he told the city's business leaders the good news about the 86 percent graduation rate- news, it might be added, that he had been aware of for weeks, but kept secret so as not to spoil the banquet.

-$334,000 for IPads for all district eighth graders, with plans to add sixth and seventh graders soon at a cost of another $650,000 to $700,000

-Nearly $2.2 million over the next four years for more 21st Century learning coaches, who primarily serve as the eyes and ears of upper administration in each of their schools, and at the present time are reportedly participating in all-day meetings one day a week at the administration building at 32nd and Duquesne. A lot of coaching gets done that way.

-Approximately $1.7 million over the next four years for the new career pathway directors. The district is now shuttling high school students into one of five career pathways. Each of the pathways has its own director, and the administration also added a sixth director to direct the directors. In the old days, these duties were taken care of by people called principals. Not under Dr. Besendorfer's 21st Century learning plan.

-The last three items were all part of the district's 2012 federal Race to the Top application, which was roundly rejected by the U. S. Department of Education, yet district taxpayers were handed the bill when the federal government refused to pass it along to all American taxpayers. Another item on that Race to the Top list was a request for money to pay all high school and middle school teachers to spend an extra non-contract hour at school every day for mentoring and meetings (under this administration, everything is about meetings). Movement is already being made in that direction. The district's estimated cost to pay the teachers to work an hour longer- $3.5 million over four years. That was the one district officials told the federal government they would not be able to cover with their regular budgeted money and would have to go to the Joplin R-8 taxpayers for a levy increase. That statement was made less than six months after voters, by a 46-vote margin, approved the largest bond issue, $62 million, in the district's history.

-$2,000 to motivational speaker Terri Tucker for a retreat in which she encouraged board members to ignore the day-to-day concerns of the public and listen only to their administrators. Ms. Tucker was a school board member at Reeds Spring who was voted out because she supported Dr. Besendorfer as superintendent and then she later wrote a letter to the Joplin Globe praising Besendorfer shortly after Besendorfer was hired six years ago.

-At least 10 district employees attended the National Career Pathways Network Conference at the Grant Hyatt Hotel in San Antonio where the overriding topic was "Linking Education and Economic Prosperity." Topics discussed at the conference included the following: "Building a Talent Pipeline That Connects Business with Future Employees," "Testing and Common Core Statements vs. the Classroom Environment," and "Using the Internet and Social Media to Collect Data." The district's representatives reportedly made a presentation on career pathways. The cost for registration for the conference (expenses not included) was $5,690.

-Six district officials presented at the National Career Academy Coalition Conference Oct. 24-27 in Phoenix on the subject of "Designing School As Unusual," which reportedly featured another explanation of how the district, to use a phrase that has been used often by Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer, has found a "silver lining in a funnel cloud" and built the kind of schools that it had always dreamed of creating. At this point, the records on the cost of that trip do not appear to be in the board documentation.

-A $20,000 device to allow administrators to make sure teachers are using enough technology in their lessons.

-$15,000 to put Wi-Fi on school buses

Perhaps I have been a bit too hard on the Board of Education. After all, they did approve a contingency plan to take care of servicing every need that C. J. Huff or Angie Besendorfer might have.

Joplin Schools will raise $1 million annually for the next 5 years to ensure the sustainability of district programs and initiatives for our kids. 

And their strategic plan promised to keep a balanced budget, unless, of course, they don't.

The annual budget proposal will be for an overall balanced budget unless reductions in reserves are planned due to capital projects in process or other board approved purposes.

That, of course, falls under the accounting principal of we will spend taxpayers' money wisely, unless there is something expensive we can buy and slap the tag 21 Century on it.

Financial accountability will be demonstrated through increased financial transparency by 
providing timely, meaningful and reliable information to the public.

Now that one is true. The board probably just never dreamed when it approved that part of the strategic plan that it would be the Turner Report that would have to provide that information.

Meanwhile, our board of education, with its never-ending string of 7-0 votes, has spent millions of dollars in taxpayers' money for today's version of $24 worth of trinkets.

C. J. Huff in his own words- From tornado to bond issue, obsessed with his image

E-mails sent from Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff to his staff in the days following the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado through the passage of the bond issue in April of the following year show an obsession with image and control of the message, whether it be about the tornado, the bond issue, travel expenditures, or a lawsuit filed by an Atlanta company against the school district.

The e-mails also raise questions once again about the need for the destruction of the original East Middle School building and blame design changes made solely for appearance as a reason for increasing costs for the new East.

The concern for appearances is also spelled out by two e-mails sent by officials other than Huff that begin this post. The first, from his former Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer five weeks before the tornado, lets faculty know that even though students would not have to make up three snow days, the faculty would be required to attend three days of professional development so the taxpayers could get their money's worth. In the final paragraph of the e-mail, Besendorfer is clearly excited by the idea that the media would provide heavy coverage since Joplin was the only school district that was having its teachers make up the days.

The second e-mail, from Traci House five days after the tornado follows up on the warning C. J. Huff sent by a recorded message to teachers three days earlier- if you talk to the media, you are guilty of insubordination and you will be fired.

R-8 Board member Randy Steele to KZRG: We have overspent

In the course of this interview with KZRG, incumbent Joplin R-8 Board of Education member Randy Steele says that one of the biggest problems facing the school district is its dwindling reserves. "We have overspent," Steele said. Unfortunately, KZRG never asks the follow-up questions- How have you overspent? How much have your overspent? Steele also brings up the problem of hanging on to good teachers, but KZRG does not ask why more than 200 teachers have left the district in the past two years. From what I am hearing, there will be at least another 100 leaving this year and the new Joplin High School will most likely be filled with new, inexperienced teachers.
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April 2 arraignment set for Joplin R-8 Board member on DWI charge

An 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, arraignment has been scheduled for Joplin R-8 Board of Education member Phil Willcoxon on charges of driving while intoxicated and exceeding the posted speed limit by 11 to 15 miles per hour.

The hearing will be held in the Division II courtroom with Judge Greg Stremel presiding.

The Missouri Highway Patrol arrested Willcoxon, 47, CEO of the Ozark Center in Joplin and former CEO of Freeman Neosho Hospital, at 9:50 p.m. Friday, February 14 on Coyote Road.

The citation indicates that Willcoxon exceeded the blood alcohol content, though it does not indicate by how much.

The DWI charge was a misdemeanor. Online court records do not indicate any previous marks on Willcoxon's record.

Willcoxon has served two three-year terms on the Board of Education, first being elected in April 2008. He did not choose to seek a third term.

Besendorfer on new job: Now I can create better futures for families

In her introductory blog as the new chancellor of Western Governors University Missouri, former Joplin R-8 Assistant Superintendent Angie Besendorfer talks about what she accomplished in Joplin and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.

This opportunity to serve as your chancellor has represented the closing of a chapter in my life: I’ve left the realm of K-12 education and leapt into higher education leadership. I bring with me many fond memories, and I leave many great friends. I must say that my heart is filled with great memories and the faces of students, families and educators who made my journey richer. 

That said, I am embracing this new chapter in my life leading the WGU Missouri community. I know I will be learning every day, which excites me because I still love learning. I know I will have many new experiences and I’ll make more friends (I’m keeping the old ones too). One thing that won’t change is my quest to use high-quality education to create better life opportunities for people in my home state of Missouri.

Court documents: R-8 official made gay slurs, said he wanted to bend principal over her desk

Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff is nothing if not a man of action.

When his custodial supervisor told him that he was being sexually harassed by Building, Grounds, and Transportation Director Mike Johnson, Huff said he was deeply concerned.

"Has he said anything about the principals?" Huff asked.

George Morris was concerned. This meeting, which took place September 9, 2008, was not Morris' idea. He felt uncomfortable talking about his immediate supervisor.

After a pause, Morris said, "Yes. "I heard Mike Johnson say that he would like to bend Marilyn Alley (former Stapleton Elementary principal) over his desk" That was one of many times Johnson had talked about Mrs. Alley, he added.

Joplin Progress Committee gives $4,000 to Slumber Party Four

The desperate push to continue the Joplin R-8 School District down its present path began with a slumber party at the administration building at 32nd and Duquesne and is now being continued with a generous helping of campaign cash from some of the city's business interests (and a surprising number from outside the city).

As noted earlier today, the Joplin Progress Committee has contributed $4,000 to the school board race, with the promise of more coming as we approach the April election.

Those who received the contributions were Board President Jeff Flowers, incumbent board member Randy Steele, Shawn McGrew, who has been closely associated with the Bright Futures program, and Lynda Banwart, who headed the committee that pushed successfully for the passage of the bond issue following the tornado.

Tina Smith: This is how we're going to raise employee morale at Joplin R-8

Newly-minted Chief Operating Officer Tina Smith just told the Joplin R-8 Board of Education about a new program designed to improve morale among district staff.

At a time when it appears that the district may lose more than 100 teachers for the third year in a row, Mrs. Smith introduced the "Eagle of the Week" program.

One employee will be spotlighted each Monday on the district website, she said. "We knew we needed to do a better job of recognizing our staff on a regular basis."

The Eagle of the Week winner will receive dinner for four at a local restaurant and have his or her photo taken.

That should keep any more teachers from resigning.

Joplin Progress Committee tops board candidate Shawn McGrew's contributors

Shawn McGrew, seeking his first term on the Joplin R-8 Board of Education, received $1,050 in contributions by the end of the reporting period, according to his 40-day-before-election report, filed Monday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Out of that amount, $1,000 came from the Joplin Progress Committee, with McGrew contributing the other $50 to his own campaign.

R-8 Board member Randy Steele has $1,495 in campaign account

Incumbent Joplin R-8 Board of Education member has $1,495 in his campaign account, according to his 40-day-before-election report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

One thousand of that came from the special interest group, the Joplin Progress Committee, another $200 from Tom and Jeany Franz, TJ Franz Associates, Webb City, with the remaining $325 coming from unnamed sources who gave less than $100 apiece, according to the report.

Steele had spent $30 of the money at the end of the reporting period.