BOARD WANTS FM STATION BACK ON CAMPUS

It might not happen this summer, but Mt. Hood Community College is on track to get its radio station back.

The MHCC District Board of Education on Wednesday voted to dissolve the current license management agreement between the college and Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) regarding KMHD, MHCC’s FM radio station, with intent to negotiate a new, two-year contract with OPB, after which the station would return to campus.

The 4-2 vote came after an initial motion to cut ties with OPB and bring the station back this August – when a 10-year contract signed with OPB in 2008 is due to expire – earned only a 3-3 tie vote (the seventh board seat formerly held by Michael Calcagno remains vacant).

After an hour of passionate discussion, the majority of members appeared ready to take on the financial challenge of bringing KMHD back to Gresham, despite formal recommendation a week earlier from college President Lisa Skari to extend the OPB contract another five years.

PUBLIC INPUT

Prior to the vote, five people used the public input portion of the meeting to speak about KMHD.

First up was Susie Jones. The former MHCC jazz band director and District board chair urged the board to bring the station back, describing its history of success at the college. She gave a similar statement to the board in October.

Dan Davey, current Mt. Hood jazz band director, said a station return would benefit not only broadcasting students in Mt. Hood’s Integrated Media (IM) program, but music students, as well. He said, “I feel very strongly that regardless of the outcome, KMHD can better serve our students, our programs, our college, and our mission” than under the current setup.

Davey also submitted a written statement from one of his students, Jake Dale, who stressed the importance of returning the station, writing, “For the music program to truly return to what it was, we have to restore what is now missing. Having KMHD return to campus would provide many additional opportunities for aspiring jazz musicians and would serve to distinguish Mt. Hood as a place for music.”

Ben “Benny King” Fitzhugh, current broadcasting student, explained why he came to MHCC. He’s worked in the music industry for over 20 years and came to the college because of KMHD and his dream to pursue a career in radio. He voiced support for bringing the station back.

JD Kiggins, head of the IM broadcasting program, spoke about the historical importance of the station. He shared a packet of documents that show how hard the college worked from when it was founded to get an FM license to promote the college and support broadcasting students. When KMHD started here, the college was in a tough financial place as a young institution, but administrators still made it happen because it was important, he said.

“I think we can work within our constraints and bring KMHD back to campus, and make it work for the college as was intended by our original board,” said Kiggins.

Finally, Devin Hardgrove, current KMHD2 voluntary program assistant and a graduate of the broadcasting program, noted how many students don’t know that MHCC has a radio station because it’s not being utilized by the college right now. He said, “Let’s make the right decision and bring back something that is already ours.”

DISCUSSION AND MOTIONS

Following the testimony, board member Kenney Polson motioned to bring KMHD back to campus this summer when the 10-year contract expires. Tamie Arnold seconded the motion, and the board began serious discussion.

Arnold recalled that the board’s highest priorities in this decision were student impact and financial impact. She questioned the extreme variations in financial numbers presented to the board in meetings over the past several months, inviting Jennifer DeMent, MHCC budget director, to the table for discussion. Arnold said she worried the numbers provided were not an accurate representation of a bare-minimum operation to bring the station back to Gresham.

She had met with Kiggins earlier in the week to tour the studio on campus and get a better understanding of the program. Given technological advances, she said she doesn’t think it would initially require a large number of staff to run the station.

Arnold invited Kiggins into the conversation to help answer board questions about volunteer involvement, which could reduce potential costs of returning the station. DeMent explained how broadening and growing the station to do fundraising would take extra support staff; Arnold said she believed it might require just one full-time and potentially a part-time employee, paring costs.

Kiggins observed the station wouldn’t be starting from scratch, and staffing could look more like it did at the start (thinner) than when it left the campus for OPB. He reiterated the importance of putting focus on reintegrating KMHD into the IM program to serve its academic purpose, and how it strayed from the college a decade ago.

“The right thing and the convenient thing are two totally different objects, but there’s room to do what needs to be done in order to make KMHD work based on what we already have, with some minor modifications,” said Kiggins.

THE RIGHT THING AND THE CONVENIENT THING ARE TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT OBJECTS, BUT THERE’S ROOM TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE…” -JD KIGGINS, BROADCASTING ADVISER

Arnold again emphasized her desire to bring the station back: “KMHD is part of this culture, of this history, and it still remains so, but not to the extent that it could be,” she said. “I would like to see KMHD brought back to Mt. Hood Community College. Ultimately, that is my goal.”

Other board members expressed concern over dollars and time frame.

Annette Mattson discussed the board’s responsibility with taxpayer dollars, and the college’s potential $4 million operating deficit in the 2019-21 state budget cycle. She also wishes to see KMHD back at the college, but would rather wait until after a five-year extension (rollover) of the OPB contract, so the college could have a business and financial plan prepared.

Arnold expressed frustration with the board’s six-month-long discussion that could’ve been used as strategic planning time to bring the station back.

ASG President Bob Hansen said a longer delay for the station would hurt students in related programs. “They’re missing five years of that educational process that they could be getting if we brought it back now,” said Hansen. “If we deny them that, that’s not doing our due diligence as a community college.”

Diane McKeel, board chair, noted that she served on the Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz board for eight years and recognizes the great history of jazz on the campus. She said she, too, wants to see KMHD return, but would rather have the next five years to plan how to bring it back sustainably.

Polson pressed for moving quickly: “Let’s take care of business. Let’s get this thing started tonight, get the station back, and make a plan.”

After Polson’s first motion failed to win four votes, Arnold laid out a new proposal, which was amended several times and led to more discussion. The biggest hangup became how many years would be needed to make a solid plan to bring the station back.

The board took a brief recess and during which broadcasting student Fitzhugh said, “I pay to go to school here and I sit in a board meeting with people who are arguing over my education and not giving me the opportunity to do what I want to do. I’m forgotten about.”

The compromise was to negotiate a new, two-year contract with the intent to bring the station back to Gresham.

Following the vote, Marilyn Pitts, Part Time Faculty and Tutor Association president, said she worries about setting the two-year contract window. “I wish the board had given the administration and the negotiator more flexibility with that.”

On Thursday, Skari said she gave Steve Bass, OPB’s CEO, a courtesy call to let him know of the decision and that the college will soon send a formal notice.

FUTURE

Mattson and McKeel are still concerned about the college having enough time to make a plan and worry that too much of the work will be placed on the already busy administration, they said.

Arnold said she shares some concerns, but takes a more positive view.

“Annette made some really great points, so did Dianne, with regards to needing a strategy,” Arnold said. “I couldn’t agree more that this does need to be sustainable. It definitely needs to pay for itself in an ideal state, but there’s so much value to the radio program.”

As for the required fundraising, Arnold said, “I’ll take ownership and do my part as an individual to help with the fundraising piece of it, but we have to kind of stay out of the weeds when it comes to the strategy.” She said that she’d love to see students, alumni, and community members come together to build a more comprehensive strategy.

Kiggins has already mentioned using a sabbatical to help ease a station transition and do everything needed for KMHD, something not possible while still teaching.

Davey also voiced interest in helping with strategic planning. He said he had wanted to begin that process at the end of last school year, but the board never got back to him after discussing KMHD at its summer retreat.

There are still many hypotheticals, moving forward. MHCC can’t fundraise for KMHD under the current contract, and there’s a chance that OPB won’t negotiate a two-year contract with the college.

However, if one thing was made perfectly clear at the board meeting, it’s that KMHD is now on a path to return to MHCC.

“I’m excited that there’s some forward momentum and some obvious support from a lot of people about bringing the station back,” said Davey.

Kiggins said, “[KMHD] is part of the institution, it’s part of our legacy. I think that was one of the things that I was encouraged about tonight. I really felt like the board totally agreed with that.”

Megan Phelps contributed reporting for this story.

Advocate Staff