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Show eyclops By BRIAN GRAY Keep him out of our pocketbooks James Moss has become the Billy Martin of Utah... Each time you think he's history, he reappears to menace the taxpayers and remind them that too much education can be a dangerous thing. Cyclops readers will readily recognize rec-ognize Billy Martin. As a manager of major league baseball teams, he received national recognition as a man who led poor teams to victoryand vic-toryand who then got fired for his own off-the-field behavior. B ut James Moss, even though less recognizable, rec-ognizable, also became a celebrity. As superintendent of the Utah's public schools, he took a rather drab, nondescript State Office of Education and propelled it into the daily headlines. Of course, there are some differences differ-ences between Martin, the baseball manager, and Moss, the school superintendent First Martin was continually fired from his baseball jobs, whereas Moss quickly stepped down before a quarrelsome school board could find his blue slip. Secondly, Martin was a jovial and emotional Pabst Blue Ribbon guy, a blue-collar hero who lost high-paying jobs by smacking mar- shm allow salesmen in local pubs. In contrast, Moss was a button-down collar Ph.D. type with as much charisma as an avocado. And there's one other major difference. dif-ference. Even though Martin couldn't hold a job for more than two seasons in a row, he was widely recognized as having performed well. His good teams won pennantsand pen-nantsand his bad teams did too. In contrast, Moss's statistics can't match up. His detractors labeled him 'ineffective and the best his supporters could do is call him "embattled." Moss began his reign at the State Office of Education by accepting an expensive coronation party, and controversy followed him throughout the rest of his tenure. The taxpayers were relieved when he resigned to direct an organization organiza-tion called the Utah Partnership for Education and Economic Development. De-velopment. (It was the right job for Moss since Ph.D.'s are inclined to work for organizations with long titles and dubious missions.) Taxpayers Tax-payers were even further relieved when Moss said the organization would not have to beg money from the public trough. 4 Representatives of the Partnership Partner-ship quickly came to Jim's defense. Calling Moss an "able and dynamic leader," one of the organization's board members said Moss deserved a salary "competitive with private industry." He's probably right But what would Moss make in private industry? in-dustry? His recent track record is hardly professionally exciting. Most analysts think Moss did a miserable job in an otherwise cushy position as state school superintendent, and in his last six months of directing the Partnership, the organization has received substantially less donations dona-tions than it planned. With this type of leadership, is Moss really worth $90,300? Not when there are shoe salesmen who make much less and have achieved more results. The answer to the Partnership's request for tax money should be answered an-swered with a resounding NO. It would save all taxpayers a few nickles and dimesand it would have an additional benefit, too. It might keep Moss out of the headlinesand out of our pocket-booksfor pocket-booksfor at least another six months. But this month, James Moss and the Partnership did a flip-flop. The organization asked that three public agencies public education, higher education and the Utah Community and Economic Development Department contribute $50,000 each to pay administrative costs of the Partnership. As the Standard Examiner succinctly editorialized: "James Moss has descended on the public sector again, spreading out in all directions and asking for handouts from the taxpayers." Like Billy Martin, Moss was back in the headlines. And, like Martin, he was embroiled in controversy. con-troversy. The Utah School Board Association cried that the request for tax money was "outrageous," and Gov. Bangerter privately uttered ut-tered words not deemed suitable under the Joy Beech Family Hour standards. Among the problems with the request was Moss's salary: With benefits and salary, the taxpayer tax-payer donation would help offset Moss's total compensation of a regal $90300 per year. Billy Martin, of course, made much more than James Moss. But then Martin had a much better year. |