By ANDY HOGUE, Register Staff Writer
Prospective Regents for the North Central Texas College board have put up a strong, local campaign for the May 10 election.
Candidates include: Place 1, incumbent Lynn Williams and challenger Ken Arterbury; Place 3, Patsy Wilson and Mike Morrison (Regent Troy Idom did not file for re-election); Place 5, Karla Metzler and Stephen Harlow (Regent Dr. Milton Dickson did not file for re-election).
Williams, Wilson and Metzler are campaigning together on a slate under the heading “Vote For NCTC,” while Arterbury, Morrison and Harlow each said they are running independently (see Sunday’s Register).
Lynn Williams, Place 1. Williams, the incumbent, raises registered Angus cattle near Mountain Springs. He serves on the board of directors of the Red River Angus Association and the advisory board for Good Samaritan Village of Denton. He is a native of Muenster.
Williams is on the NCTC Board of Regents finishing an unexpired term left by the death of Ken King.
He and his wife, Beryl, celebrated their 50th anniversary recently. Their children include: Mary Ann Foster, a teacher for visually impaired children in the county; Gail Brodersen, who works for a financial services firm in Denton; Pati Akerman, who teaches in a college in Chicago; Calvin Williams, who works for Martindale Feed in Valley View; and Danny Williams, who is a Certified Public Accountant in Dallas.
“I’m proud of them all,” he said.
Williams received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Texas at Austin, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and worked as a national marketing manager for a business and economic textbook publishing company, before serving as an investment advisor in Denton.
Ken Arterbury, Place 1. Arterbury and his wife of 40 years, Nancy, have lived in Dexter for 15 years. The couple raised a son and a daughter, who both attended community colleges, and Arterbury said he hopes his grandchildren will attend NCTC, though he himself does not have a degree.
“With someone with not much more than a high school education, I wonder how much further I could have gone with a college degree,” he said.
Before moving to Cooke County, the couple lived in Dallas County for 24 years in Lancaster. Prior to that, Arterbury served four years in the U.S. Navy. He and his wife began a construction company which they operated for more than 30 years with about 30 employees. They sold the company in 2005 and are now retired.
Arterbury has volunteered with a local fire department and was certified as an EMT. He is a member of the Association of General Contractors, and supported several charitable organizations and youth groups such as Future Farmers of America.
Politically, Arterbury led a petition drive for a tax freeze for seniors and the disabled in 2005. the measure passed strongly. He noted the NCTC Board of Regents approved a similar tax freeze before the petition was brought to the college board.
Patsy Wilson, Place 3. Wilson, born in Muenster but who grew up on a ranch in Sivells Bend, is often recognized as the former librarian of the NCTC Library.
Wilson said she began her education in a two-room schoolhouse in Sivells Bend, and later graduated from Gainesville High School.
“... I would not have been able to attend college if NCTC and the Mary Josephine Cox scholarships had not existed,” she said. “There would have been no Associate of Arts degree, no Bachelors and Masters degrees from UNT (University of North Texas), no teaching in Gainesville High and Sherman High, and no 26-year career as a Director of Library Services at NCTC. My father taught us to remember where we came from and to give back to that community. That’s why I chose to enter this race.”
Mike Morrison, Place 3.
According to a previous Register article, Morrison has been in the community for five years and has taught Sunday School at First Baptist Church, having much interaction with young people. He said in that he saw a big demand for vo-tech training and preparation for higher education.
“There’s opportunities out there, if you just reach out and grab them,” Morrison said.
Morrison has a doctorate in economics from New York University. He did his coursework through distance learning and said it was a personal goal, not to supplement his career.
He was division manager for UPS for 27 years, retiring in 1999. He supervised about 1,000 employees in Dallas, and has worked in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, and briefly for the UPS air division in Houston.
Stephen Harlow, Place 5. Harlow, a local farmer and native of Cooke County, said he learned much from his mother, the late Nita Harlow. Nita Harlow led a rollback petition on Cooke County taxes in the ’90s, which Harlow said rolled back a large tax increase passed by the Cooke County Commissioners Court.
“I learned a lot from her about the political process and how to look after the taxpayer’s money,” he said.
Stephen Harlow was involved with the senior and disabled tax freeze petition in 2005.
“I like to work with my hands and brain,” he said.
Harlow farms about 500 acres of family land southeast of NCTC and does much of his own repairs and machine work.
“I’ve gotten to know a lot of the local business owners and have worked to promote NCTC’s welding and machine shop programs for their employees,” he said.
Harlow is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish.
Karla Metzler, Place 5. “NCTC was my first college experience this is where I gained the confidence to continue my education,” Metzler said. “I then went on to earn my Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Government.”
Metzler, a 20-year resident of Cooke County who has been married to John Metzler since 1984, has two boys, Riley and Keith.
She has served on several elected and appointed boards in the area, including 15 years on the Gainesville Hospital District Governing Board. As board president, she was instrumental in the construction of North Texas Medical Center.
She currently serves as vice president of the Cooke County Family Crisis Center board of directors, and attends St. Mary’s Parish where she is a member of the finance committee. She is a member of the Gainesville Rotary Club and of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Metzler has owned Metro Centre, a partner of the Xerox Corporation, since 1986. She was recently appointed a member of Xerox’s national business council.
Each of the candidates were asked the below questions in a letter. Their written responses are as follows (with the exception of Morrison who granted an in-person interview as he was short on time).
What two main issues do you believe the NCTC Board of Regents will face in the remainder of this fiscal year?
Williams: Williams said the two main issues coming up is how to complete the new vocational-technical building and make sure it is functioning at a high level.
“The $500,000 gift for the building by a local donor and the $250,000 grant from the Gainesville Economic Development board gives us a great opportunity to have some outstanding job training facilities,” he said. “Another issue involves expanding the dual-credit classes for all county high school students which will allow more students to take advantage of college level classes as well as some of the highly technical job training skills that we are offering. We are moving in the right direction under Dr. Hadlock’s direction.”
Arterbury: “The economy is probably one of the biggest factors the board will face the remainder of the fiscal year,” Arterbury said. “We will have to find creative ways to fund and help our students stay in school; at the same time without significant increases to tuition rates and Cooke County taxes.”
“... There is so much currently going on under the leadership of Dr. Hadlock,” Arterbury said, calling for more partnerships, such as one between the Gainesville Economic Development Corporation to provide new welding equipment totaling $250,000 plus $20,000 scholarships for the Career Technology Center, and an unnamed donor who gave $500,000 for the building. He also praised the oil and gas program at the Bowie Campus.
“This will attract many more students to the NCTC Gainesville campus,” he said.
Arterbury said rising fuel costs and utilities rates will also be a challenge.
Wilson: “I think both issues are facilities related,” she said, of her thoughts on the two pressing issues. “First, the shell of the Technical Building, for which an anonymous donor provided funds, must be finished out to meet the needs of existing and potential vo-tech, Workforce Development, and other programs.
“Secondly, modifications to the Center for the Performing Arts to solve moisture problems in the building need to be completed, and a decision made as to what redress the College might pursue to recover those expenditures,” Wilson said.
Morrison: “Obviously, financing is an issue,” Morrison said. “It comes from taxes and fees, and it’s difficult to balance because they are so inter-related.”
Morrison said parking lots at the Corinth Campus are also a priority for the Board of Regents.
“The Corinth Campus creates a positive cash flow for our campus up here — about 6 percent of the budget, I understand,” Morrison said.
He said he would be against the North Central Texas Community College District giving up the Corinth Campus to Denton County or a municipality.
Harlow: Harlow said the two main issues coming are improving economic conditions at the college and better promotion of classes to attract more students.
“We need to see what needs to be put in next year’s budget while watching any unnecessary expenses so we can build up our reserves,” Harlow said. “We need to figure out ways to save money when doing projects to get the maximum efficiency from students’ tuition money and taxpayer dollars. We need to have sufficient reserves to weather any downturn in the economy and attract matching grants.”
Harlow said additional students in classes would reduce the costs to offer classes.
Metzler: Metzler was brief in her reply.
“I think we will need to look and evaluate our plans for expansion in the southern part of our district to include student enrollment, facilities, and potential tax structures,” he said. “I think we should look at the repairs needed of some of the buildings on the Gainesville campus.”
Do you feel NCTC should place its primary focus on preparing students for a four-year university, providing vocational education/training, or an emphasis on both?
Arterbury: Arterbury said both roles are necessary. He noted as vocational programs agriculture science, cosmetology, equine science, health sciences, the new oil and gas program at Bowie and welding.
“With the courses available at NCTC, a student can complete an excellent two-year college degree without leaving Cooke County. Do not sell NCTC short,” he said. “We have some of the best courses and instructors that you could find at the freshman and sophomore levels at four-year universities.”
Arterbury said he would like for NCTC to explore options of partnering with four-year universities to see if junior-level and senior-level classes can be completed in Cooke County.
Williams: “We can provide solid job training or retraining skills and still provide a solid academic program for those planning to go to a four-year university,” he said.
“The community college has a mission to do both and we do it very well at NCTC. Providing a well trained workforce for our county will help us attract good jobs for our children and grandchildren,” Williams continued.
Morrison: He indicated that preparing students for a four-year education should be the primary thrust of a community college, as four-year degrees are becoming increasingly required in many careers.
“You never know what the future holds for an individual,” he said. “An associate’s degree is fine, but there’s nothing like a bachelor’s to expand your possibilities.”
Morrison said a four-year education and preparing students for it opens young minds to a “myriad of opportunities” they may not have considered before.
Wilson: Business trends change, and that requires a constant evaluation by college administrators to determine which courses to offer, Wilson said.
“Those decisions require constant monitoring by the instructional leadership at NCTC as job trends and population trends change,” she said. :Additional health-related programs will probably be needed. The renewed interest in locating and developing more energy resources and in protecting the environment will also present opportunities for new programs.”
Metzler: Metzler said both vo-tech and college prep classes are necessary.
“... We need to provide as many choices as possible to those who seek education at our college,” she said. “It does not matter if they are attending NCTC with future plans of finishing their degree at a four year university or if they plan on attending NCTC for some type of vocational education/training, we have to pay close attention to career trends in the market place and understand what careers are hot and change our offerings as often as necessary to stay on top, while at the same time work with businesses to understand their labor requirements and support those efforts through our offerings.”
Harlow: “I’d like to continue our excellence in academic programs while adding more vocational training and certification programs to help local businesses and entrepreneurs,” Harlow said. “In Denton County, the four-year universities seem to be interested in the upper-class students and are happy to let us teach the first two years of a four-year education. The first two years are our specialty.”
Harlow called for a police academy, classes in electrical wiring, plumbing, heating and conditioning, automotive repair and construction trades.
“Where practical and financially available, I’d like to also offer these in Denton and Montague counties,” he said. “I support the administration’s efforts to improve the welding program to provide formal certification. I’d like to see similar upgrades to the machine shop training.”
Which programs (if any) do you believe NCTC should add within the next five years?
Arterbury: “We need to listen to the needs of our students on any new programs,” Arterbury said. “We need to understand the student’s needs and deliver the best education we can afford. Education is the key to the success of every student and the economic vitality of our community.”
Arterbury said NCTC should make efforts to further educate the work force to retain talented individuals in Cooke County.
“Many students seem to prefer online classes,” he said. “I propose we expand our offerings there more rapidly to meet the demand and minimize the cost of new, expensive facilities that may require bond issues to build.”
Arterbury said online students should not be charged $50 extra per class, as they are not using physical campus facilities.
Williams: NCTC has developed and is in the processing of fine tuning a comprehensive five-year plan, Williams noted.
“I have been impressed by the faculty and staff and I’m confident we are moving in the right direction,” he said. “The current board and administration at NCTC are attuned to the needs of the people of the county and will listen to thoughtful ideas at any time.”
Morrison: Morrison said the business end of the college should be expanded to attract more international students. He noted expansion in China and other Eastern nations and said a community college would be wise to tap into that growing prosperity.
“If we play our cards right, our young people can take advantage of that growth,” he said.
Wilson: Wilson said the mission of a community college is to provide instructional programs that meet the educational needs of students.
“Those programs include, but are not limited to, both academic transfer and vocational/technical education and/or training programs,” she said. “I support all of NCTC’s educational programs, and I especially support VoTech programs that prepare students for today’s and tomorrow’s job market.”
Metzler: “I think we have to pay close attention to career trends to understand what careers are hot and change our offerings as often as necessary to stay on top, while at the same time work with businesses to understand their labor requirements and support those efforts through our offerings and expansion,” she said.
Metzler said working with other, local education institutions to offer dual credit classes for high school students is essential to that.
“I am very intrigued with the Internet based offerings and want to look at ways to expand this area if the demand is there,” she said.
Harlow: “Our students are the reason our college is here,” Harlow said. “We need to survey our students and local businesses to know what our students would like to see and what can help them be the most successful in their careers.”
He said the oil industry could be the base for many vo-tech offerings, with classes in operations, repair, management and research. He said the oil and gas program in Bowie should be expanded to Gainesville and Corinth.
“The Barnett Shale has a lot of very good paying jobs, and we need to help our students compete successfully for them,” he said.
Do you feel NCTC should expand to other areas with satellite campuses; and, if so where should those campuses be located?
Williams: Williams praised the Corinth campus.
“The satellite campus in Bowie under the direction of Emily Klement and the Corinth campus under Lee Ann Nutt made us stronger in many ways,” he said. “If other opportunities arise we certainly will consider them.
Arterbury: “I feel that satellite campuses are needed for NCTC to continue to grow and be competitive,” Arterbury said. “We need to find creative ways to accomplish these visions without increases to Cooke County taxes or tuition rates. We need to find ways for Denton County to help NCTC support their students and improve our facilities there.
“Demographics would be a key factor in where we place such satellite campuses,” he continued. “One way to do that would be to partner with one or more school district in Denton County. Recent changes in state law allow several creative financing alternatives.”
Wilson: “The satellite programs we have in conjunction with high schools in Denton County are an exciting development,” Wilson said. “The part of NCTC’s service area in Denton County that is growing dramatically is the southwest of the county and is primarily part in the Northwest ISD.”
She continued: “I favor creative approaches to providing access to NCTC for these students similar to what exists between the citizens of Bowie and NCTC as well as partnerships between the college and business/industry.”
Morrison: A campus in the Argyle area would facilitate a large population growth, Morrison said. If not Argyle, he added, a campus near Intersate Highway 35 West would attract growth from North Fort Worth and the Alliance Corridor, as well as southern Denton County.
“I don’t see why the college wouldn’t want to take advantage of the growth there,” he said.
Harlow: Harlow called for an expansion of online classes to meet “pent up student demand,” as a step before building new campuses.
“They tend to fill up first and do not carry the cost of expensive, additional facilities,” he said.
Harlow said Denton County does not provide any revenue for the Corinth Campus, and therefore student capacity must be expanded.
“I’d like to see us partner with the universities and/or school districts to lease space to build up a larger student population that could eventually fund an additional campus in the western part of Denton County, much like the approach we did with Corinth,” he said. “If we could establish a partnership with all or part of Denton County, where they help fund activities like we have in Bowie, we could speed up the development of a permanent, second campus in Denton County.”
Metzler: “Yes, if we can do it without burdening the taxpayers of Cooke County,” Metzler said of expansion. “From the information I have received about our current two satellite campuses, excess funds are supporting the college as a whole and Cooke County specifically.”
She continued: “Based on this information I would look for ways to continue to expand. It appears to me if you stand still and don’t look for growth our death is soon to occur.”
Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr@ntin.net
