Tag Archives: Amarillo College

local news

School board elections matter, too

I think I’ve been scolded by a couple of followers of this blog for an apparent error of omission.

I posted a blog about the importance of municipal elections and then was reminded that, yep, school board elections matter just as much as those that elect city representatives.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2015/03/14/why-do-these-elections-matter/

I stand corrected.

The blog noted that local elections determine how much we pay for essential local government services. It also took note of an important public affairs program — “Live Here” — being broadcast soon on Panhandle PBS about the upcoming local elections.

School board elections, of course, allow us to choose people who set local educational policy that has a direct impact on our children’s education. Allow me to include community college board elections as well; Amarillo College also will elect regents in May and they, too, play critical roles in setting higher education policy here at home.

Lest we forget, in Texas the largest single line item in our property tax statement every year is for public education. That’s how it is in our home, where the Canyon Independent School District tax obligation is by far the largest single property tax we pay annually.

The thesis of the earlier blog post remains intact: Local elections matter the most to us and we need to pay careful attention to the people we want representing us at City Hall — and on educational boards.

local news

Why do these elections matter?

1 Comment

Panhandle PBS, the public TV station based in Amarillo College, is going to present a couple of compelling public affairs programs in the coming weeks that require voters to pay attention.

They’re going to focus on the upcoming municipal election to take place. They’re going to try to drive home a critical point about this election. It is this: No level of government has more of a direct impact on citizens’ lives than the local level, which is why it is imperative for voters to get — and stay — in engaged in the process of selecting the people who govern us.

Full disclosure: Panhandle PBS employs me as a freelance blogger to comment on public affairs TV programming, but I’m doing this little piece independently.

I feel strongly — no, very strongly — about the importance of getting engaged in these elections.

“Live Here” is a series of public affairs broadcasts that Panhandle PBS is running. The March 26 segment will include interviews with former Amarillo mayors and council members about the job required of them and how to get residents more involved with the local electoral process.

On April 2, “Live Here” will play host to a candidate forum featuring all 16 City Council and mayoral candidates.

Both shows air at 7 p.m.

This is a big deal.

Voter turnout for these local elections is beyond poor. It’s abysmal, dismal, disgraceful, shameful, awful … name the pejorative adjective and it fits. Single-digit percentage turnouts are the norm around here. How can that be?

The turnout boosted a bit in 2011 when we elected a new mayor after Debra McCartt decided to step away. Every so often, the city puts a referendum on the ballot that boosts turnout; the most recent one involved banning smoking indoors.

I recall a stand-alone measure in 1996 that asked voters whether to allow the sale of publicly owned Northwest Texas Hospital to a private health-care provider. It drew a 22 percent turnout and the city was utterly ecstatic over that response. Ecstatic when fewer than one voter out of four actually voted. Good grief.

Municipal elections always are important. They have direct impacts on our lives. They determine how much we pay in taxes to fund the services we demand each day. The municipal candidates are vying for a chance to set that policy — and we need to be paying serious attention to what these people have to say.

Public television is going to provide a forum for residents to listen in and hear what these folks are telling us.

Let’s pay attention.

 

local news, national news, Uncategorized

Free college for anyone who wants it?

Is it me or is President Obama in a fight-picking mood these days?

Now it’s free community college for any high school graduate who carries a 2.5 grade point average or better. The president this week proposed a new plan to enroll more students in community college. He made the pitch in Tennessee, which has a statewide program after which the president modeled the federal idea.

What’s more, he made his pitch in the presence of Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who once served as education secretary during the George H.W. Bush administration.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/barack-obama-free-community-college-114094.html?hp=rc3_4

Will this plan fly in Congress? Well, it’s worth a serious look. But I am dubious about Republicans’ ability or willingness to make an “investment” in public education while it has its dander up at the president over immigration policy, health care and, oh, just about anything.

Amarillo College President Russell Lowery-Hart seems willing to give it a look, if not yet ready to give it a try. He told NewsChannel 10: “I think it’s something our community needs. When you look at last year, for every $1 of taxpayer money invested in Amarillo College, there was a $3.50 return on investment. I think the proposal today acknowledges the economic impact community colleges have on communities and we would certainly want to be a part of that conversation.”

The sticking point is going to be its cost and where the federal government will get the money.

Republicans aren’t in an investing mood these days. Job-training bills have gone nowhere. Infrastructure restoration? Forget about it.

Free college for millions of high school graduates? Well, the president of Amarillo College — which sits in the heart of Anti-Obama Territory — seems willing at least to discuss the notion.

So, let’s start talking.

 

local news

Regents chose well with Lowery-Hart

OK, so I’m a little late commenting on this one, but I’ll weigh in nonetheless.

Amarillo College’s Board of Regents made a sterling choice in naming Russell Lowery-Hart as the college’s next president.

Having said that, I still wish Lowery-Hart would have been put to a stronger test than he got before regents named him their sole finalist for the post, succeeding Paul Matney, who retired after a 40-plus-year affiliation with the college.

Lowery-Hart was second in command at AC. So he doesn’t climb many rungs on the ladder to take the top administrative job.

I get that regents know him well, that he knows the college political and academic infrastructure inside and out, and that he has virtually no learning curve to negotiate as he takes command of the staff.

Over the past few weeks I’ve visited with friends associated with Amarillo College. They all sang Lower-Hart’s praises as a man, an administrator, educator and someone who loves AC. They like his vision and the way he expresses it. They like that he’s “one of us.”

My only wish would have been that regents invited in candidates from other regions, interviewed them along with Lowery-Hart and then considered their visions, outlooks, approaches and credentials.

Something tells me Lower-Hart would have stacked up well against any set of applicants with whom he would compete.

A thorough vetting and comparison with other candidates would have strengthened the local guy tremendously and — were he to still get the job — strengthened the school he was chosen to lead.

Still, I extend my best wishes to the new Amarillo College president.

 

 

Uncategorized

College finds another home-grown leader

Russell Lowery-Hart appears headed to the office of Amarillo College president.

There goes my advice to the college board of regents, which was to cast a wide net to find a successor to retiring AC President Paul Matney.

Lowery-Hart is the second in command at AC and the board has voted unanimously to declare him as its sole finalist in the search for a new president.

I still favor wide-as-possible searches — if only to strengthen the local candidates, making them compete head to head with qualified individuals with fresh ideas and outlooks.

That won’t happen with Lowery-Hart, just as it didn’t happen when the college picked Matney to succeed the late Steven Jones, who did come from beyond the Panhandle to run the college before he died.

Lowery-Hart will take office with overwhelming support from AC faculty, staff and students. That gives him a huge advantage, just as it did for Matney.

I am not going to criticize this pending appointment. I’ve heard from those close to the situation that Lowery-Hart brings a lot to the office. He’s a West Texas A&M University grad; he got graduate degrees from Texas Tech University. He’s well-educated and knows the college well. He appears to be a solid pick.

I’ve long been amazed about Amarillo College’s community standing. AC seems almost immune to significant criticism, such as what one hears about Potter and Randall county governments, or Amarillo City Hall, or even the Amarillo and Canyon independent school districts. AC has escaped many of the barbs that get tossed at public institutions.

That speaks well for the leadership of the school.

I am optimistic that the new president-in-waiting will maintain that standing.

Uncategorized

AC honors living past presidents

One school of thought about naming buildings or academic programs after living individuals is that the institution doing the naming can get embarrassed if the honoree messes up.

I have subscribed to the notion that you need to take great care to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen if you honor someone who’s alive in such a manner.

However, Amarillo College’s decision to put two past college presidents’ names on AC facilities is far more than just the right call. It is an outstanding one.

AC President Paul Matney’s name will be honored by putting his name on the Mass Media Program at AC. Joyner, who served as president twice before Matney took office, will see his name attached to the auditorium at the college’s downtown campus. A third Amarillo College official, the late Louise Daniel, will be honored with her name being attached to the College Union Building’s third-floor meeting room at AC’s Washington Street campus. Daniel, who died in 2003, served on the AC Board of Regents and taught in Amarillo’s public school system for more than three decades.

I cannot think of three more deserving individuals to be honored in such a fashion.

As for the notion of honoring two living past presidents by putting their name on these facilities, well, we all can rest assured that neither man is going to do a single thing to sully the institution they served so honorably.

Putting living individuals’ names on buildings, rooms or academic programs sometimes comes with a bit of a risk. Not so with these fellows.

Uncategorized

Look far and wide, Amarillo College

Now that Paul Matney has announced his intention to retire as president of Amarillo College, it’s not too early to light a fire under the school’s governing board of regents.

Cast a wide net, AC regents, in your search for someone to succeed Matney.

The AC president, arguably one of the most highly regarded public officials anywhere in the Texas Panhandle, rose from the ranks to the presidency in 2009. He had served as acting president while the late Steve Jones battled cancer. Matney had served three decades at AC in various faculty and administrative capacities. The school would have been wise then to look outside for a successor to Jones, but it chose instead to stay in-house.

The decision turned out to be a brilliant one.

Matney’s replacement, though, will need to be someone special. Matney’s mark is indelible. Foremost among his accomplishments has been his relentless advocacy of Amarillo College and the astonishing loyalty and ease with which he argues the virtues of the institution that has set student enrollment records for several of the past academic years.

Should regents look solely within the ranks of current administrators? I think not. Amarillo College has established an enough of a stellar reputation among other junior colleges — indeed, among universities — in Texas that qualified administrators would scramble to apply for this office the moment it is posted.

Paul Matney set a high bar for his successor and in the process has created a “headache” most college regents would love to have. They likely will have the chore of poring through a mountain of applications from high-quality candidates seeking to fill some mighty large shoes.

Uncategorized

Matney sets record for loyalty

If you want to craft the ideal spokesman for a public institution, someone whose love for it is beyond reproach, who speaks with intelligence and clarity, and who means every single word of what he says about the place he runs, you would use Paul Matney as your template.

Matney announced today he is retiring after more than three decades working on behalf of Amarillo College.

http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2014-03-31/acs-matney-retire

The past five years of that service have been as president of one of the premier junior colleges in Texas.

Man, what a loss for the school with which Matney has had a love affair ever since he enrolled there fresh out of high school.

Paul Matney has been one of my better friends since my arrival in Amarillo in January 1995. He was a trusted source for perspective on the school, on Amarillo, public higher education, the Panhandle, on Texas politics and occasionally on how to live a good life.

He earned the trust, respect and admiration from folks all across the spectrum.

I want to share one tidbit that, for me, testifies to the universal respect Paul has enjoyed in Amarillo.

Some years ago, I was sitting at the table with some other local residents at the Good Scout Luncheon sponsored by the Golden Spread Council of the Boy Scouts. One of them was Tom Roller, a local real estate broker and at the time the chairman of the Potter County Republican Party. I mention Roller’s partisan affiliation only because Matney is an unapologetic Democrat.

Matney was serving as acting AC president when he walked by our table. He greeted us all individually and walked on. Roller turned to the person sitting next to him and said, “That man should be the next Amarillo College president. I hope the regents appoint him to the job permanently.”

Roller’s off-the-cuff endorsement told me clearly that Matney’s credentials as an avid AC advocate and spokesman were unassailable. Indeed, over the years I have listened to Matney speak on AC’s behalf at luncheons, seminars, press conferences or in informal gatherings of individuals just standing around.

The man is a treasure to the college he loves so much and to the place he calls home.

The college board of regents will need to look hard to find someone to step into the enormous void that Paul Matney will leave.

Well done, my friend.

Uncategorized

I’m now calling myself ‘retired’

This is the latest in an occasional series of blogs commenting on retirement.

I made a decision this weekend that involves my immediate future.

I’ve decided to say that I’m retired — even though I’m still working, sort of.

The decision came from a Facebook notice that popped up. It asked me to update my employment status. I clicked on the “retired” box and then saved it. So now my Facebook profile has me listed as “retired,” although I later — at my wife’s suggestion — entered “blogger” along with it. So it says I’m a “retired blogger.”

This is a big deal in my evolution from working guy to fully retired guy.

I’m working part-time for an auto dealership here in Amarillo. It’s a customer service job; I work about 24 hours a week. My job is to welcome folks who bring their vehicles in for service or who are waiting while they purchase a vehicle. I make them feel comfortable, offer them something to drink or eat, ask if they need a ride somewhere, talk them up a little bit.

The job is so much fun I have a hard time calling it actual “work.” I spend my afternoon with individuals I like in an environment that produces little pressure. My employer asks me simply to treat people with courtesy and respect, which I am able to do.

I have another job. I write a blog for Panhandle PBS’s website. Panhandle PBS is the new name for the site for KACV-TV, the public television station based at Amarillo College. It’s a free-lance gig and, too, is a serious blast. I write about public affairs programming at Panhandle PBS/KACV. I also write about other public policy issues as I see fit. I submit the blogs — titled “A Public View” — as drafts and they’re posted by the staff at KACV.

Check it out here:

http://panhandlepbs.org/news/

So, those are my jobs. They are more fun than I can possibly have imagined having.

My wife says it well. I am getting paid for doing something I love to do: talk to people and write.

Social Security is still down the road a bit. When that income kicks in, then I’ll be able to declare myself officially and fully “retired.”

For now, I’ll settle on pretending to be retired. I’ll get lots of practice. Who knows? When the day arrives, I’ll be proficient in all that retirement entails.

Uncategorized

Happy 25th birthday, Panhandle PBS

I went to a birthday party this evening with my wife.

It didn’t honor a person. It honored instead a Texas Panhandle institution. The honoree tonight was Panhandle PBS, known formerly as KACV-TV. Panhandle PBS has turned 25 years young.

Here’s hoping for many more such celebrations.

Time for some full disclosure: I write a blog for PanhandlePBS.org, which is the website created for the public TV station. It’s called “A Public View with John Kanelis,” and I’ve been writing it since shortly after my 36-year career in daily print journalism came to a screeching halt in August 2012.

I am happy to affiliated with Panhandle PBS. I am even happier that public TV found its way to the Texas Panhandle in 1988. It took a good while since public TV arrived in the United States way back in 1953, when the University of Houston’s KUHT-TV went on the air. I used to watch KUHT programming when my family and I moved to Beaumont in the spring of 1984.

Public television is a valuable asset to any community. It brings intelligence, sane discussion, distinguished comedy (often of the British variety), heartwarming stories, in-depth reporting and first-rate educational programming.

Panhandle PBS broadcasts out of the Gilvin Broadcast Center at Amarillo College. It is run by a delightful and competent staff of seasoned and still-to-be-seasoned studio hands and technicians. The woman in charge is general manager Linda Pitner, who just stepped off the Amarillo school district board and is one of the smartest people I know … and I’m not just saying that because she’s my boss.

Public television occasionally gets whipped and lashed by some who think it’s too darn liberal. I beg to differ with that description. I prefer to call the Public Broadcasting Service reasonable and analytical. It might be too liberal in some folks’ eyes only because they see the world through their own bias prism.

I find public TV to be informative and worth every penny that it receives from private donors and, yes, from taxpayers such as me.

They threw a heck of bash tonight in north Amarillo. I hope to be around for the next big bash.

Happy birthday, Panhandle PBS.