The Council approved the Dallas Community College's application to build a satellite campus Downtown at its last meeting. Testimony and discussion were spread over three hours.

 

I didn't hear a lot about the pending case until it was presented to the Plan Commission—where it was recommended for approval with a vote of 7-2. Then the volume started rising.

 

I was never involved with the selection of the site or had any involvement in the process, until it was presented this week to the Council. I make that distinction because I feel everything I knew and have learned about the project was been learned in the public domain, like most everyone else. I have been close to the public statements and presentations, beginning with the first announcement of the pending college district bond package in 2004, to Chamber and Economic Development Steering Committee meetings, and to other public presentations.

 

I was heavily involved with the selection of RTKL and Paris Rutherford, the consultants that prepared the revitalization plan for Downtown that has led to the Trammell Crow mixed-use project, but I was not involved with any of the RTKL work product or negotiations with Trammell Crow. I have had periodic updates on the progress, several of those in executive session. In any of the RTKL presentations, when the area involving the college property was mentioned, it was always prefaced that what was presented was conceptual, that it was not based on discussions with the college district.

 

Obviously there are others that do not see it that way at all and have expressed either discontent with the college district's proposal or the communication over the period we have known about the satellite campus.

 

From my perspective, I do not feel there was a bait-and-switch; what was presented from the beginning was more or less what was presented at the end. I don't split hairs and then claim that something said in general, conceptual terms was later not strictly and precisely delivered. Nobody can do that. Property development starts as an idea that is always transformed when slapped with the big 2x4 of reality.

 

So how did we get so many people so hot and bothered? For answers, I started doing research.

 

I started with the Dallas Morning News, shelling out good bucks to read online archives (Note to DMN: longtime subscribers should have more open access than someone in Timbuktu that will never subscribe). I checked the DCCCD site. I ran online searches. So what do we learn?

• In 2004, the college district presented a bond package for $450 million, to be used on 8 campuses and to build five satellite campuses. One satellite campus was to be in the "Northeast" quadrant of the county. It could have been Garland but it could have been Rowlett or Richardson as easily.
• The bond election was approved with 70% of the vote.
• Ten months after the election, Garland was chosen for the site. No one could have "voted" for the site because it had not been determined.
• Over a year after the election, the college district starts a process to learn what types of classes would be supported by the community.
• In July, 2005, the City and College District approach DART with a concept plan to open Sixth St to Walnut and to move the DART station.
• By 2006, the College District is referring to the campus as a "Workforce Training Center."
• In August, 2006, Trustees hire Chancellor Lassiter, who confirms that curriculum has changed to more emphasis on workforce training and less on general education classes.
• And so it remains today.

When I voted, I certainly had no idea that one of the satellite campuses would be coming to Garland, and I don't see how anyone else could have. After Garland was chosen, I know several locations for the campus were considered and that the current location was at least No. 4 on the list.

 

Nothing supports claims that we were told the $450 million would be spent only on the five satellite campuses, $90 million each, but there is plenty to disprove it.

 

The closest I can find to support claims that the campus was to be a two-year academic college are references to "basic classes," "able to earn up to 48 credit hours," "have a computer lab," and this statement from the new Chancellor: "Our plans include focusing on educational needs for workforce development instead of a broad-based array of classes for general education programs – a change in our original plan, but one that I believe will best serve the needs of Garland."

 

Those few references show a range was considered for the curriculum. On the other side, there are multitudes of references to workforce training, consulting with businesses and the Chamber, and similar expressions. Nothing approaches a promise of a full two-year academic campus and everything points to workforce training as the primary emphasis.

 

I'm sure we would all have liked a full academic campus from the beginning but I can find nowhere even the remote suggestion that we were to receive one.

 

However, it should be remembered that the college district said the first buildings are only Phase 1. They showed future buildings across most of the 25-acre site. In March, 2005, Jerry Prater, Garland resident and DCCCD Board Chair, said, "Within a decade, we feel we could serve as many as 5,000 students at one time." There is obviously a higher goal.

 

Also, Dr. Lassiter said last year that all the DCCCD campuses would be encouraged to offer classes at the facility because of its easy accessibility by DART.

 

So what got so many people so hot? My guess is that descriptons of the satellite campus got briefer and briefer over time, assuming everyone understood what was being said. The campus was tied by Garland officials, not DCCCD, to Downtown revitalization. As people became aware of the changes coming to Downtown, the late arrivals did not have the context necessary to understand that "community college" did not mean a new, full-scale academic campus, that it could never be a full-scale campus, which takes eight times more land, at a minimum, according to Dr. Mittelstet, President of Richland College. Even a recent Dallas Morning News article on Downtown uses the shorthand reference: "And a community college campus is coming on Walnut Street, just across the DART tracks." Anyone knowing the historical context would understand immediately. It also demonstrates the hazards of believing your own assumptions and the constant requirement to be curious and to ask questions.

 

Maybe the good news is that more and more people have started to pay attention to the pending changes Downtown than any of us had suspected. That actually bodes well. And maybe we all need to be better communicators.

 

The more germane documents that I reviewed are listed below in chronological order, links to the documents are under the date, and some of the more pertinent portions are quoted. Go forth and study! There might be a quiz.

 

Date	Source	Bullets	Details from Media
Jan 6, 2004	DCCCD	Feedback sessions scheduled in four quadrants of county	DCCCD Seeks Ideas and Feedback from Community about Future Plans *** DCCCD will hold several conversations with community members throughout the four quadrants of Dallas County *** Jan. 21, 2004 - 6 to 7:30 p.m., Garland Center for the Performing Arts, 300 N. Fifth St., in Garland
Jan 21, 2004	DCCCD	Chancellor shares vision of college district for jobs training	Conversation with the Community *** Higher level skills/training needed for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs; Emerging/evolving technology requires on-going training and skill enhancement; Displaced workers need training and/or retraining; Labor force shortage in health occupations, education, information technology, and health/safety “first responders”; All are areas within the DCCCD’s expertise and continued role as a partner in regional economic and workforce development *** Eastfield College: Northeast Education Center
Mar 3, 2004	DMN	Article announces details of $450 million bond package: 8 campuses and 5 new satellites	…big plans for campuses *** $450 million bond proposal on May 15 *** $33 million the district hopes to use in land acquisition for five centers that would serve as satellites to full-fledged campuses *** centers will enable DCCCD to create additional points of access for under-served and growing populations in our communities *** workplace demands have changed as well, and the college is trying to adjust to those needs *** jobs of the future will be more technical
Mar 21, 2004	DMN	Announcement of bond package	Voters will decide in May whether [DCCCD] should sell $450 million in bonds for additions, renovations and parking on its eight campuses *** Eastfield: $59.4 million to update health, human services, technology, workforce and fine arts facilities, parking and two satellite education centers
Mar 27, 2004	DMN	Editorial supports bond package	That's why Chancellor Jesus Carreon and the district's board believe a May 15 bond election is necessary. So do we. The election campaign kicked off this week
May 4, 2004	Dallas Chamber	Vote Yes! campaign literature	Vote Yes!
May 15, 2004	DMN	Synopsis of items on ballot	…$450 million bond package will allow the district to add facilities, upgrade existing ones and improve nursing and other health-related training
May 16, 2004	DMN	Election results: bonds approved by over 70% of voters	Bond Election-Passed *** Voters approved a $450 million bond package that will expand or update aging buildings on Dallas County Community College District's seven campuses. The largest chunk of the package–$33 million–will pay for an additional five satellite centers.
May 21, 2004	DCCCD	College District's reaction to bond approval	Approximately 70 percent of the persons who voted on May 15 cast their ballot in favor of DCCCD's bond program. "That's more than 2 to 1 in favor of a better future in Dallas County for higher education and workforce development," said Carreon. *** The chancellor also sent a special "thank you" to members of the citizens advocacy committee - "Vote yes! Education = Jobs" - who raised funds, awareness and votes for the bond package. The group was led by Phil Ritter of Texas Instruments, campaign chair, plus Emilita de la Rosa, Hector Escamilla and Sheron Patterson, who served as co-chairs. Robert L. Thornton III served as honorary chairman.
Fall, 2004	DCCCD	College District seeking land for satellite campuses	The district engaged realtors to identify properties that may be suitable for education centers in the northeast and northwest corners of Dallas County, as well as west Dallas, Pleasant Grove and south Irving neighborhoods. Our goal is to complete and open those locations within three years.
Mar 10, 2005	DMN	Garland selected as site of "Northeast" campus	Garland will receive a satellite education center from Dallas County Community College District sometime next year, officials confirmed this week *** In Garland, Mr. Prater said, the center will cost $10 million to $11 million. He said it will include at least 50,000 square feet of floor space *** "We will be conducting a variety of meetings with the [Garland] school district, with important people in the community, with church groups and others to assess the needs," Mr. Prater said. "We'll build the curricula around that." *** Industry leaders and chamber officials in the areas where the five education centers will be located will be consulted, Dr. Carreon said. *** "They [the five centers] are all going to have the basics. We'll probably have a computer lab at each one of them. I think that's crucial." *** Mr. Prater said the Garland center will include accommodations for students with limited English proficiency. *** "I hope they put this center on a bus line or a rail line. That would be a big help. Then, students wouldn't need a car to attend classes." *** Curtis Culwell, superintendent of the Garland school district, said inclusion of a technical trades component at the center would be important to many Garland-area students. "Anything to help train or re-train people for the workforce would be critical," Dr. Culwell said. *** Such details are still being worked out, Dr. Carreon said.
Spring, 2005	DCCCD	Trustees approve Garland land purchase	Trustees approved the purchase of land for both the Eastfield College-North Campus in Garland and the North Lake College-North Campus in Coppell.
May 3, 2005	DCCCD	Details of Garland land purchase	DCCC Trustees Approve Purchase of Land for Garland Education Center *** DCCC bought the property from Jay W. Jones at a cost of $2,357,403; the land is not encumbered with existing buildings or improvements. Jim Whitten, who works for CB Richard Ellis, was the system's realtor for this transaction.
Jun 30, 2005	DMN	College District to gather community input on curriculum	Garland-area residents have an opportunity next week to affect development of a downtown college campus near the DART rail and bus centers on Walnut Street. Officials of the Dallas County Community College District, or DCCCD, will meet at 6:30 p.m. July 7 in the Atrium at Granville Arts Center, 300 N. Fifth St., to discuss plans for the campus. *** Dr. Carreon said district officials are eager to share their vision for the new campus. But, he added, officials also want to hear from area residents as to what courses and programs should be offered. *** "The fundamental building block of economic development is the workforce," said Paul Mayer, Garland Chamber of Commerce president. "This facility is so incredibly critical to that fundamental building block."
Jul 21, 2005	DMN	DCCCD and Garland approach DART for changes	With a community college campus coming downtown, city officials said it might be a good idea to make a few changes, such as moving the light-rail station west, closer to the campus site at Glenbrook Drive and Walnut Street.
2006	DCCCD	"Workforce Training Center"	Garland Workforce Training Center *** Richland College's new Workforce Development Center, with a project budget of $7,152,750, is planned to be 32,000 square feet in size. The facility will be home to Richland College's Continuing Education, Workforce Development, and other programs and will include new classrooms, computer labs, required staff office and support spaces, and other functions needed to support those programs.
Aug 31, 2006	DCCCD	Change in Chancellors and some change in expected curriculum	Change in Administration for Garland Center *** Dr. Wright Lassiter, chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District, announced to Garland-area leaders today that responsibility for the development and oversight of the district's new community education campus in Garland will be assumed by Richland College; that move will enable Eastfield College officials to focus on another community education center planned in Pleasant Grove. *** Richland College has suggested some changes in direction, tailored specifically to the Garland campus. Some of those ideas include: A clear program focus on addressing the workforce development training needs of Garland by offering specific corporate and contract training; Flexible scheduling and configuration for training needs; Courses offered by several DCCCD institutions at one location, which is accessible by DART bus and light rail routes; A new Business Innovations Center, where principles of performance, excellence and prototype product and systems development can be offered; An environmentally friendly campus facility; and Offices for appropriate mission-related job opportunity/chamber/career development agency partners who can enhance on-site training and employment needs.

 

[Return to Website]

---