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Courted for public office, Andre Agassi campaigns for education

Andre Agassi is prepped for the question in the same way he anticipated a first serve to his forehand: Is he ready to run for public office?

“No. For me, getting into that space, is not appetizing right now,” Agassi said Tuesday morning as he welcomed Carlos Santana to his Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy to announce a partnership to donate dozens of iPads outfitted with new Square Panda reading software. “I look at it this way: I had a decision between doing this, or running for office. I decided I wanted to get things done.”

Since his retirement from competitive tennis a decade ago, Agassi has been courted by both major parties to enter public service. His dedication to the advancement of education, widespread fame and incalculable charisma would make him a formidable candidate.

Agassi is flattered, but …

“Listen, it’s a compliment to me, a sign that maybe I live what I preach and what matters to me, which is education,” he said. “I think you see that there is a caring factor with me, that it actually matters. What you want in your leaders, whether they are elected or not, is they live what they value.”

Agassi declined to say for whom he has cast a ballot in the presidential race (he cast a ballot last week during early voting).

“My focus is education, and I have to work with both sides. Straight up,” he said. “I feel like both sides feel that children, and nurturing great learning in a friendly environment, are truly a bipartisan issue … But this is why I educate kids, because maybe one kid will come out of here and give us an amazing choice for president.”

Agassi’s long partnership with Santana, who was joined at the event with his musician wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, dates to before Agassi Prep opened in North Las Vegas.

“He was one of the first calls I made,” Agassi said. “He has been contributing to the Academy for a long time, through his shows, with the one-dollar (ticket) donations and the texting he has set up. He helped build this school.”

The original cost of the K-12 school was $40 million. Since the flagship Agassi Prep opened in 2001, Agassi has opened 69 charter schools in Nevada and across the country. Santana has made multiple visits to the academy, and in 2010 furnished dozens of guitars to the young students. He has donated $1 of every ticket to his House of Blues shows to the academy and also set up a way for fans to text donations to the school from the shows.

During Tuesday’s event, Santana told the kids, “You are beams of light, and when I am with you, I feel this high off the ground,” holding his hand to his side. A headliner in Las Vegas for eight years dating to his days at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, Santana became particularly close to Agassi after reading Agassi’s memoir, “Open,” as the two men shared domineering fathers.

“We have so many similarities with our fathers, who were very stern with their discipline over us,” Santana said, referring to his own father, Jose, and Agassi’s father, Mike. “Andre became a great athlete because of this, and he is a worldwide figure. What he has done with sport, and me with music, has made us become agents for change. Our mission is to conquer feat and shake the world’s foundation.”

Santana is back onstage tonight for his next run of performances, ending Nov. 13. He stitches his hits — “Oye Como Va,” “Black Magic Woman,” and “Smooth” among them — with spirited, circuitous oratory from the stage. Santana has recently targeted Donald Trump in more recent performances.

Without offering any formal endorsement in the presidential race, the guitar great said, “I believe that humans, especially in America, are thirsty for integrity and righteousness, and we will get it, one way or another.”

Tuesday’s event began with the requisite, thunderous performance by the Agassi Prep drum line (always an effective way to start a morning news conference), and the kids put the Square Panda program to work. Using iPads donated by Bank of Nevada, the kids used block letters to spell specific words and watched the iPad screens light up with matching images.

One first-grader spelled “CARLOS” and laughed as an image of Santana appeared on the screen.

“It’s wonderful,” Santana said. “This is Ground Zero for change for the better. It’s more important to me than the Vatican, and I have been to the Vatican. This is a real treasure, right here.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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