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McKinney, Collin County leaders discuss vision for future at annual event
Kelsey Kruzich/Staff Photo - Left to right, Collin County Judge Keith Self, McKinney ISD Superintendent J.D. Kennedy, Collin College President Cary Israel and McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller shared their educational and economic goals for the area Thursday at McKinney's annual State of the Community event.
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@starlocalnews.com
McKinney and Collin County leaders this week shared a message heading into 2013: work together.
Their platform was McKinney's annual State of the Community event Thursday at Christ Fellowship Church. Preceded by videos, drums and "most interesting man in the world" intros, they took the stage to boast of the past and present, and suggest for the future.
"So much has really happened this year," said Jodi Ann LaFreniere, McKinney Chamber of Commerce president. "It's not really until you put it all together that you see how much has been accomplished."
Loughmiller listed the recent and impending proof that the city is focused on economic development: Emerson Process Management's headquarters being built at the Gateway site; Wistron GreenTech, a Fortune 500 company that's projected to bring in $21 million in new tax base; Craig Ranch's corporate center, to be kicked off with construction of a roughly 150,000-square-foot office building; and several other key developments.
"We've accomplished several goals this year that illustrate our commitment to growth and development," Loughmiller told a crowd of community leaders. "When you look at all of that...all these companies have made McKinney their home for the same reasons."
Two of those reasons are the city's school system and the county's higher education presence, the areas of expertise of his fellow panelists. Kennedy and Israel stressed the importance of creating and finding solutions to funding issues surrounding both.
Collin College lowered its tax rate this year to 8 cents per $100 valuation, making it the 11th straight year the rate's remained frozen or decreased. In comparison, the average tax rate for community colleges in Texas is 22 cents, and 56 cents for community colleges nationwide, Israel said.
Though it maintains the lowest tuition in the state, he said, Collin College was recently named a National Convergence Technology Center, and is looking to build a 150,000-square-foot health care training center. It hopes to build on an already nationally recognized nursing program, through which students led the state and much of the country with a 98.8 pass rate this past year, he said.
"You can have high quality and you can be cost-effective," he said. "And you can absolutely do this with the money you have, keeping your budget and not producing debt."
McKinney ISD's budget continues to shrink, but Kennedy said neither panic nor quitting are viable options.
"It's one thing to be griping about the system," he said, referencing recent cuts to education budgets statewide. "It's much better to be trying to be part of the solution."
Kennedy said McKinney ISD should have enough in its fund balance "to sort of wait out the storm" - as long as that storm isn't too long. "Hopefully the Legislature will solve this problem and we won't have to keep talking about this," he said.
The panelists seemed optimistic in spite of what could be an uphill battle. Two days after national elections likely shed light on the country's path for the next four years, Self said the county - like the rest of the U.S. - could expect slower growth and higher taxes. "All that means is that Texas continues to have the opportunity to be a shining star," he said.
He mentioned how Collin County this year was the No. 6 county in America for, "Where the jobs are," and that cities in the county have gained 100 percent in housing permits. As other states raise taxes and repel residents and businesses, he said, the county has the "infrastructure and amenities" to attract them.
"Competition for business relocation is only going to continue to get more fierce," he said, before getting into the shared mission. "Combining 800,000 people into one program can certainly help us when we bring major companies to Collin County."
Though he began the discussion touting McKinney's own development, Loughmiller agreed with Self that attracting business to any Collin County city is better than the alternative. Aiding in that attraction is the expanding Collin County Regional Airport, which has a new runway and control tower, and legal accountability throughout the county's justice system, Self said.
McKinney ISD is one of 23 school districts on the Texas High-Performance School Consortium, which is working to create new learning standards and means of assessing students. Collin College is aiming to become a recognized four-year public university, and hopes to introduce the state's first packaging and logistics program, Israel said.
Self said the county needs to encourage the state to make transportation a higher priority, keep unfunded state mandates in check and further enhance its judicial capabilities.
"I think that our cities working together will continue to build Collin County," he said. "We need to attract world-class businesses to our world-class county. Competition is stiff, but together I think we can set the bar high."
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