Kilgore College apologizes for disposing of music items (2024)

Three weeks after a public outcry over the dumping of thousands of items from their music department, Kilgore College has formally apologized and pledged to “do better.”

A large crowd attended KC’s recent board of trustees meeting and the section of the meeting devoted to public comments was extended past its usual 20-mintue limit to give everyone a chance to speak who wished to do so. In all, 13 speakers addressed the board on the issue, who listened to the comments and complaints for nearly an hour.

Several weeks ago, comments and photos began to circulate on social media that the KC music department had filled two dumpsters with thousands of CDs, sheet music scores, vinyl records, textbooks, videotapes and other items from the music department’s storage. Several people came to the campus to “dumpster dive” and rescue valuable or historical items from the trash containers. Items belonging to KC music luminaries like Anne Dean Turk and Van Cliburn were recovered, as well as sheet music dating from the 19th century.

The college posted a statement on social media shortly after and more than 100 social media users responded, accusing KC of attempting spin and damage control.

The speakers at the board meeting, many of whom worked for or attended KC’s music program over the years, expressed anger and disappointment over how historical items were trashed and the college’s response. Multiple speakers pointed out the college could have donated or sold many of the items, as the college has done with excessive library materials in the past. Several speakers claimed music and fine arts programs at KC have been on the decline for years due to a lack of support from the college.

Sherry Wilkins, a grad of the KC music program and orchestra director at KISD, said of the discarded items, “what could have been a terrific fundraiser for Kilgore College instead ended up in the dumpster.” She also noted the college’s response, which claimed the department is transitioning to digital storage for its sheet music, and refuted it, noting many valuable and singular pieces of music currently only exist in printed form and digitizing them will take years.

Sandra Siler, the head of piano instruction at KC for 25 years, said she had emailed the entire board about the issue but only received two emails seeking to help in return.

“For those of you who did not bother to reply, shame on you. If you can’t be there for your constituents, perhaps you should have second thoughts about running again for this very sacred position,” Siler said.

Siler said she was saddened by the disposal of the music department items and took issue with the college’s initial response, noting some sheet music is extremely expensive to rent or purchase and music students rely on the music library to learn new pieces. Siler also said she had several people tell her they were so upset about the situation, they would never attend the Texas Shakespeare Festival at KC again.

Jacovia Cartwright, another KC music department alum, drove all the way from Houston to speak at the board meeting and said he would make the drive again to help prevent such an event from ever happening again.

“We want solutions,” he said. “I’ll drive back as many times as it takes.” He referred to an incident in 2021 when the KC library had an overflow of materials and allowed members of the public to take what they wanted, stating the college could have easily done the same for the music items. He also addressed other problems with the music department, claiming some students have not had their music scholarship funds applied properly and that the band program was being slowly taken apart.

Following the speaker comments, KC President Brenda Kays issued an apology for the incident.

“First, I want to offer a personal apology as well as an apology by the entire college,” Kays said.

“I sincerely regret the fact that this has caused distress. The lessons learned from the incident will improve our processes as well as our actions moving forward. The dumpster was a poor choice.”

Kays explained the music collection of famed organist Alexander Boggs Ryan had not been discarded but some other valuable items were disposed of. However, she noted, the college still has possession of many items belonging to Anne Dean Turk, a longtime music instructor at KC for whom the fine arts building is named.

“The Boggs Ryan collection is intact and is stored in the library,” Kays said. “The collection was curated by Dr. Bill Holda during his tenure at the college. Unfortunately, items from the Anne Dean Turk era were never curated, identified as having historical value, nor were they stored properly. We currently have at least one filing cabinet filled with Anne Dean Turk’s sheet music with her notations, as well as a couple of cardboard boxes containing memorabilia, such as her signature stamp, letters, press releases and photos. Those items are now being transferred to the library. They will be stored in clear plastic containers, all in the same place, and they will be marked as valuable. The college will work to find an independent third-party vendor with the knowledge and expertise to accurately curate the Turk items into a formal collection.”

Kays also said the college halted the disposal process when it learned important items had been tossed and plans to consult with third-party experts to curate certain items to prevent another similar incident in the future.

“After learning that KC had disposed of historical, valuable items, employees veered on the side of caution and cleaned out items from the dumpster for future sorting. KC has reached out to those individuals who removed items from the dumpsters in order to attempt to communicate with them and to learn more about the items that they have. But the calls have not been returned as of yet. Moving forward, KC must get into the habit of documenting and properly storing items deemed as either having historic significance or monetary value. These types of items must be stored in the library or one of the vaults, not in cardboard boxes or file cabinets that are strewn across the classrooms as well as closets. We must also recognize that we may not have the in-house expertise to determine significance to the community and the college’s history and therefore must consult with external third-party experts.”

Kays also addressed some of the rumors brought up by the speakers during the public comment portion. For example, she explained that a $100,000 allocation to band member scholarships was made in addition to money which already existed in the fine arts programs for scholarships. Several speakers this amount was taken away from the department, only to be returned after complaints. Kays also addressed a rumor that the band department had been given an ultimatum to maintain 50 students on its roster or the program would be shuttered. Kays said the number 50 was only a “target” for enrollment and said there are no plans to shutter the band program.

Trustee Gina DeHoyos, who was appointed to the board in 2022, encouraged those in the audience to come to her with any of their concerns about the music program.

“I do value the music program. I do think the other directors do too,” she said.

“I hear you. I hear your concerns. My door is always open. I’ve spoken to many of you already. Your voice does matter and we want to hear it. You have a valuable perspective. Many of you were part of this program before or worked in this program. I know how much it means to you. I am pledging that I will do all I can to continue these programs here. I do think they are a valuable piece of KC history and they offer a unique opportunity for the students in our area. We did obviously mess up. We definitely as a board need to take a look at these policies that are in place so that they can be improved so that this does not happen again. I apologize to each one of you for the distress this has caused you. Let’s do better. We can do better.”

— Lucas Strough can be reached at lstrough@kilgorenewsherald.com.