Monday, September 15, 2014

Huff to JHS teachers: Arts area won't be ready until spring; you guys deal with it

As plans continue for the October 3 grand opening of the new Joplin High School and the cutting of the record-breaking six-and-a-half-mile ribbon, Superintendent C. J. Huff broke the news to staff in an e-mail over the weekend that the fine arts section of the building will not be totally ready until March.

His suggestion to Principal Kerry Sachetta on how to work through this problem pretty much amounts to "I've got the building open, now you guys deal with it."

The e-mail is printed below:

I continue to hear good things from students about their new school. Thank you to everyone for their good work in making the transition for the students a successful one. As promised, a few updates on construction on your site. Again, there will be a time that we will be asking you to put your eyes on your assigned spaces to give us a final to do list for the contractors.

Construction Timeline: The below is an overall timeline of project completion at the JHS/FTC site. This information is subject to change and should be considered a very conservative timeline. I would ask that the

§ Track and Fields: The softball playing field is finished. The girls actually practiced on it last night. The dugouts are still under construction. They will possibly be playing their first home game on the field this next week. Soccer fencing is going up. Field turf on the baseball field will be going down this next week as well. The asphalt for the track will start being poured on Wednesday and the rubberized track will start going down on the following Monday. All exterior work is obviously subject to weather delays.

§ October 21 – Final punch list items completed in classroom wings.

§ February 15 – Performing Arts Center Classrooms. Dr. Sachetta will be visiting with those teachers this next week to develop a workable plan. I had hoped for better news, but given we pulled all available resources off that part of the building to complete the main part of the building in the two months leading up to the opening, I'm not surprised. We will be pushing for earlier occupancy, but consider 2/15 as a worst case scenario at this point.

§ March 15 – Auditorium

The main gym floor is complete and the rubber track inside the gym will be 100% finished within the next few days. Wireless internet has been installed in 75% of the gym/classroom areas. We have had network issues at the high school since we started school at JHS/FTC. Eric Pitcher has worked closely with the company that installed the equipment and have since added some additionally equipment to speed up the network. As of yesterday the changes appeared to be working well.

Additionally, we hope to have the final punch on the electrical in all areas of the gym soon so we can fully occupy the space. We will be hosting our first volleyball game in the new gym vs. Webb City on Tuesday.

Student & Staff Celebrations: Tess Harmon and Alec Welch have been named National Merit semifinalists. They are among approximately 16,000 semifinalists representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors.

The Joplin High School Fashion Class has been recognized for its "Recycle and Redesign Fashion Show," which designed dresses created entirely from recyclable materials. The Missouri Recycling Association (MORA) presented an award for "Outstanding Recycling Education Program" during the MORA conference in Springfield on Sept. 9. Mandi Gash, JHS teacher, accepted the award on behalf of the fashion students.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

We were told months ago the building wouldn't be 100% complete until next school year.

Anonymous said...

So unfair to the kids in performing arts programs, especially seniors. I guess they won't be hosting their first competition in February as originally planned. Disappointing, CJ. He should have just taken responsibility and left the kids at the mall and Memorial until the entire building was finished and opened for use by all students in all areas.

Anonymous said...

Who cares, right--as long as all the sports-related areas are getting finished. This is so screwed up in so many ways--NO to every bond issue/fundraiser/begging activity until these "leaders" are gone!

Anonymous said...

Where exactly does he say "Arts area won't be ready until spring; you guys deal with it?"
Another example of grandiose sensationalism? Context, Randy, is important.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who did a knee-jerk vote for this project is partially to blame

Anonymous said...

11:23, March 15 is a pretty close to the1st day of Spring and Huff said that Dr. Sachetta would be talking with the teachers to come up with a workable plan.

Anonymous said...

Today they were told the auditorium would not be ready for the spring play which is scheduled for April.
Maybe they can save the ribbon add 50 feet and set another world record next year when everything is ready.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet the wrestling room isn't ready for wrestling. One of the few sports that has been left out of the grand scheme.

Anonymous said...

The students and staff would have been better off to stay where they were for at least another semester. The rushing has created a nightmare in expensive repairs. This isn't fair to the students in fine arts. But CJ doesn't care. It's about his moment in the sun and that damned ribbon. Do I hear a class action law suit for the fine arts students?

Anonymous said...

7:05

I bet that room is ready for wrestling, but my son has music in there. You are right. Wrestling will get pushed aside and they will have to go somewhere else so fine arts will have a place to be.

Anonymous said...

6:29--
I agree with your sentiment. A hundred times over.

Anonymous said...

His daughter does sports, this is the reason our performing arts students had to wait! We wouldn't want Huffs little princess to miss out on anything while the rest of our kids can just find a spot in an unfinished stairwell to study! Well played Huff!

Anonymous said...

Can I third that motion 7:52 and make it a clean sweep?