Tarrant County College District 2 candidates in May 1 election
Conrad C Heede
Age: 79
Occupation: Commercial Real Estate Investments
Education: BS & MS Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross; Completed all coursework for PhD Chemistry, U. of Arizona; MBA Northeastern University; Numerous other courses at TCU, UTA, TCC & Holy Cross
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
City Council, Grapevine; TCCD Board of Trustees (have served on the Board for 10 years, last 2 as Board President
Please list highlights of your civic involvement (for example, service on boards/commissions or leadership positions held):
In Grapevine, served on the Zoning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustments, Tourist & Convention Bureau, Economic Development and VP, Grapevine Chamber. In Rotary, served as Grapevine RC President, Rotary District 5790 Governor, numerous leadership positions at the local, Zone and International level, trainer of presidents-elect, DG-elect for 20+ years and presently D-5790 Scholarships Chair, Fellowships Chair, Assembly Trainer, Foundation Chair and President of the RWAF Fellowship.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain:
No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain:
No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Gary Fickes, Farukh Aslam, Linebarger Goggan Blair
Why are you seeking this office?
My life’s work has always involved being of service to others less fortunate than ourselves, to help others to a better and more rewarding life. TCC furnishes the quality education and/or workforce skill training that provides the economic and quality of life elevator for students to achieve their lifelong dreams. Trustees do not receive any financial remuneration but we are highly rewarded when we watch 2,000+ students cross the stage to receive their diplomas and certificates. Many of our students have overcome almost insurmountable barriers to reach that stage and it warms the hearts of the dedicated faculty, staff, administration and the Board to know we played a significant part in preparing these young people to succeed in life.
My secondary reason is because I have dedicated the last 10 years of my life to become the best, most effective Trustee I could possibly become. I have attended every possible training program, conference, etc. to fully learn how best to serve as Trustee.
What are the biggest challenges facing your district?
1. We need to properly manage our $825 Million Bond Program to build/rebuild buildings that are adaptable, sustainable, and technologically advanced to last 50+ years and create motivational student learning environments. This work needs to be done on-time/on-budget so that we will not have to increase our tax rate to service this debt.
2. We need to fully engage our new 3 Goals,8 Principles Operating Philosophy, including our Pathways Program to steer our students into career paths that will result in well-paying jobs and careers without wasting time & money. This will revolutionize TCCD and take us to a new level of efficiency and effective education & workforce skills training.
3. We need to continue & increase our effort not only to raise the image of TCC in our community but to develop more working relationships with businesses, ISDs and other organizations to provide even greater service to our community and to provide opportunities for our students to fully realize their dreams.
What would your top 3 policy priorities be?
1. We are managing a $825 Million Bond Program, to build/renovate buildings to be energy-efficient, sustainable, technologically advanced and adaptable to last 50+ years and that provide students with the best possible safe, secure and motivational learning environments. We are developing operational policies, including a Digital Roadmap and a Sustainability Master Plan that will guide the college.
2. We are in the process of fully implementing our 3 Goals,8 Principles Operating Policy, the result of 4 yrs of work by students, faculty, staff and Board analyzing where we are and where we want/need to go and determining how we are going to get there. This will revolutionize TCCD and take us to a new level of efficiency and effective education and workforce skills training.
3. To eliminate disparities in access to education, the Board is adopting policies to ensure that faculty looks like the student body, that there is equality, diversity and inclusion in all we do.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
I am the best qualified. TCC touches 100,000 students, has $450 M budget; managing a $825 million Bond to build new/renovate old buildings, install new technologies to create safe, secure, energy-efficient, motivating learning environments. A new Operating Policy will make us more efficient/effective. Trustees need to be proven, experienced, and dedicated leaders.
Served on the Board for 10 yrs, pres. the last 2, been on every committee, the TCC Foundation Board, active in our state and national associations. Earned the ACCT Certification for Trustee Training, learned the “best practices” for community colleges.
Own 4 real estate businesses, earned BS & MS Chemistry degrees, Holy Cross, worked on a PhD at U. of Arizona & earned a MBA from Northeastern U.
Taught Chemistry at Holy Cross & Arizona, taught Rotary club presidents and district governors for 20+ years.
Rotary club president, governor, completed many humanitarian/educational projects.
US Navy Lt.-Biochemist.
What’s the best way to help students recover from learning lost to the pandemic?
Higher education is not as structured as undergraduate education so our students mainly lost time due to the pandemic, with the result that it might take longer for them to graduate and/or get their certificates. The greatest problem the pandemic caused for our students was the stress to their lives. Many work part-time jobs, sometimes two or three to survive. Through our Eliminate Barriers/Student Assistance program, TCC, assisted by the Cares Acts, provided millions of dollars in student assistance. We also have food banks on every campus, child care on some, free bus and train transportation for all students and we provided computers equipped with WIFI for every student in need, including instructions on how to properly use them for virtual education. Our counselors, advisors and career coaches continue to provide advice and assistance to all students in need.
As the pandemic wanes, how should Tarrant County College use virtual instruction, if at all?
One of our six campuses, TCC Connect, is our online campus (and rated # 1 in Texas) so when the pandemic hit, we were able to switch all our education to virtual learning with a minimum of difficulty since we already had most of our curriculum in appropriate software. We also gave computers equipped with WIFI to each and every student who needed one. We will continue our online instruction at TCC Connect so that any student can take courses whenever they fit into their schedule. They can complete their degrees and certificates totally online at their convenience if they so choose. This provides ready access to higher education and workforce skills training for many students who could not otherwise attend college.
School/college district taxes are the biggest driver of homeowners’ property taxes. Should the district try to reduce taxes and if so, what would you cut?
In the ten years I have served on the TCC Board, we have set a tax rate equal to or lower than the “effective tax rate” every year and lowered our tax rate by 13% over the last 6 years. We are managing a voter-approved $825 million Bond Program that will require no increase in the tax rate to service that debt. The first $300 million in bonds were just issued at an average interest rate of 1.75%, almost cash. We decided on bond financing now due to a lot of immediate needs, the cost of borrowing funds is very low, it will be less expensive to complete this work today than it will be in 5, 10 or 20 years, and our students will have the benefits of better learning environments now rather than later. Meanwhile, revenue from the state has decreased from about 74% to about 15% of our total revenue - and yet TCC continues to deliver accessible, high quality education and/or workforce skills training for about $1,800 per year, the 8th lowest tuition of the top 10 community colleges in Texas.
How would you rate the performance of the chancellor and his leadership team? What changes would you like to see them make?
One of the more important jobs the Board has is to select and oversee the Chancellor. We hired Dr. Eugene Giovaninni 4 years ago to take TCCD to another level of excellence. He immediately embarked on an analysis of every facet of TCC; his team talked to students, faculty, staff, administration, Board and the community to find out where we were and what folks thought we could do to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of TCC. This has evolved into our new operating philosophy called 3 Goals/8 Principles, now being fully implemented college-wide, that guides the entire college, working together to bring TCC to a much higher level of efficiency in achieving our mission. The Chancellor has reorganized the staff and administration, eliminated silos and brought in some incredibly talented people to fill critical roles. The Board supports the Chancellor and his team. We want them to maintain close Board involvement and move perhaps more quickly now that we have the plans and objectives.
Shannon Wood
Did not respond.
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 12:29 PM.