Joplin Metro
R-8 school district to require employees to cover tattoos
By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
Joplin R-8 Board of Education members Tuesday night gave administrators the OK to change wording in the district’s employment policy to not allow any part of a tattoo to show.
The policy previously instructed teachers to wear clothing that “minimizes” tattoos, but it did not prohibit part or all of the tattoo from showing.
The board also wants to make that policy apply to all district employees, not just teachers.
Superintendent C.J. Huff said he brought the issue to the board because someone had raised concerns about teachers with tattoos. The board members appeared to be in unanimous agreement about tattoos not being appropriate in a professional and, specifically, a classroom setting.
“Until business and industry says that we want to hire people with tattoos, I don’t think it’s anything out of order,” Huff said of changing the policy. “It’s how we need to do business.”
Board member Ashley Micklethwaite said more specific wording in the policy will prevent school officials from having to make individual interpretations of what is appropriate in subject matter, size and coverage of tattoos. Newly hired employees will get a copy of the policy at orientation, and will have to sign a form acknowledging that they received the document and are aware of the policy.
Board member Jeff Flowers said the issue comes down to what is acceptable within the community.
“There’s a stigma associated with (tattoos), and it’s not a good stigma,” Flowers said.
Joplin resident Maurice Filson encouraged the board to adopt a policy that requires teachers to cover their tattoos. He said refusing to do so would be a statement that might speak louder than the body art itself.
“You already know the problems our children are facing, so for the sake of our kids, I hope this can be properly addressed,” Filson said.
Huff said that once the policy is official, he will notify the universities from which the Joplin district recruits most often, including Missouri Southern State University in Joplin and Pittsburg (Kan.) State University.
“This is a trendy thing for people to get tattoos, but we’re asking people who are going into the teaching field to ask themselves how big and where they want to put those tattoos,” Huff said.
Residency restrictions
The board also gave the administration the OK to write up a residency policy that will no longer allow students from outside the Joplin district to pay about $6,000 in annual tuition to attend R-8 schools. Assistant Superintendent Steve Doerr said the district has about a dozen such students, most of them in high school.
Doerr said the policy will “grandfather in” all the students currently paying tuition to attend the district and all siblings who live in the same house with those students. He said the change was prompted by concerns about class sizes in the elementary schools.
State distinction
Angie Besendorfer, assistant superintendent, said preliminary numbers from the state show that the Joplin district should receive the Distinction In Performance Award for the fifth year in a row. Besendorfer said graduation rate remains the district’s Achilles’ heel.
Huff said the district is trying to improve the graduation rate by starting young. To that end, the district gave several $500 college scholarships to elementary and middle-school students during the recent Academic All-Stars celebration. Those scholarships will be available after high-school graduation. Huff said the district also will conduct several focus-group sessions to talk with dropouts or students considering dropping out, and their parents.
“We will find common areas and come up with a way to target that,” he said.
Next meeting
The Joplin R-8 board’s next regular meeting is set for Tuesday, Nov. 11. A work session starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Eagle Talon Room at Joplin High School, and the regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the high school’s multimedia center.
- Joplin Metro
-
-
Longtime Democrat dies at 81
Sapp, 81, died Thursday. Funeral services were Monday at the First Presbyterian Church of Joplin. A longtime Jasper County Democratic committeewoman and volunteer, Sapp for years was secretary to the county’s central committee.
-
Flying Fortress lands in Joplin
Warning: Taking flight in a restored B-17 bomber of World War II fame can cause a strong visceral reaction.
-
Red Cross seeks money for fire victims
The American Red Cross in Joplin needs money to help the victims of Monday’s fire at the Oxford Park Apartments get back on their feet.
-
‘Fire all over’: Four suffer minor injuries in apartment blaze
Her phone started ringing, followed by a noise of uncertain origin outside her apartment. That’s how the sleep of 28-year-old Sylvia Moran was dispelled in the nick of time Monday morning. Moran got up, looked out a window and saw smoke.
-
Drunken driver involved in injury accident in 2009
A Joplin man, who pleaded guilty to felony assault in connection with an alcohol-related accident one year ago, was assessed a suspended sentence Monday in Jasper County Circuit Court.
-
Webb City school board to set levy
Property taxes in the Webb City School District are expected to stay the same, with the Board of Education to consider keeping the district’s levy at the current rate of $3.43 per $100 assessed valuation.
-
Sex offender sentenced for failure to register
A former Texan was assessed two three-year prison terms Monday for failing to register in Jasper County as a sex offender and for receiving stolen property.
Clay E. Herring, 53, pleaded guilty Feb. 22 to the charges in Jasper County Circuit Court. -
Drunken driver assessed suspended sentence in crash
A Webb City man was assessed a suspended sentence Monday on an assault conviction for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in an accident two years ago that caused serious injuries to another man.
Justin M. Allen, 32, pleaded guilty March 22 in Jasper County Circuit Court to second-degree assault in connection with a two-vehicle accident May 13, 2008, on Highway 43 north of Joplin. -
Lobbyist: Bill on tax-stacking appears stalled
A fix for Joplin’s tax-stacking exposure has not materialized in this session of state legislative action, as city leaders had hoped.
And, with only four days left before the session ends, not much chance is seen for the rescue of a bill that would protect Joplin, and other cities, from potential lawsuits such as one filed last year over the city’s multiple sales taxes. -
Salary schedule to come before Board of Education
A proposal that would institute a pay freeze next year and slightly reduce starting pay for new teachers is to be taken up tonight by the Joplin School Board.
Superintendent C.J. Huff said the salary schedule that will come before the board will include changes that would reduce the annual starting pay for new teachers with no experience next year from $33,372 to $33,122. - More Joplin Metro Headlines
-
