– PENELOPE WILLS MUST GO —
Newly elected District 3 County Supervisor Randy Garrison sharply criticized Yavapai College president Penelope Wills in an article in the Cottonwood Journal Extra, dated January 4, 2017. He observed that her tenure has been marked by declining enrollment and near-obsession with building unneeded facilities in Prescott. In the article written by Zachary Jernigan, Garrison added: “I know what [the College] can do when it works. … I know it can do better.”
Garrison also told the reporter that in order for the College to address the educational needs of the Verde Valley it needs new leadership beginning with a new president. Garrison said: “Somebody has to step up and say something.”
Garrison was elected in a landslide at the November election. During his campaign, he repeatedly criticized Yavapai College’s performance in the Verde Valley. As pointed out in the article, although Yavapai College is a government body independent of Yavapai County, the County and Yavapai College often work together on projects.