Author Archive for R. Oliphant – Page 32

NEW FIVE YEAR YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE MASTER PLAN CONTAINS CONCEPT OF EXPANDING COMMERCIAL DRIVING TRAINING PROGRAM TO VERDE CAMPUS

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, December 15th, 2022

Estimated cost is $608,000 to initiate program on Verde Campus; Chino Valley Center is currently home to Community College developed CDT program and will continue with an estimated $608,000 additional funding

The Yavapai Community College Governing Board approved in concept at its November 2022 meeting spending an estimated $608,000 on the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale to begin a Commercial Driver Training Testing site.  Any final decision on starting the project and allocating the funds for it rests with the Board when it approves its budget in the spring 2023.

The justification for the expansion was that there is a high demand for truck drivers with commercial driver’s licenses. 

The project for the Verde Campus includes site grading and construction of an ADOT approved asphalt lot and track for commercial drier license skills testing.  The size of the lot and test track will be determined when the Community College decides to go ahead with the project and hires an architect for it.

It should be noted that back in June 2022 the Community College said in a report to the Board that it had applied for a grant from Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. During the announcement, the presenter made reference to Camp Verde as receiving some of the grant funds for a commercial truck driving school. The reference now appears most likely an error or slip of the tongue.  (To view the video clip of the June report to the Governing Board on the grant request see https://www.screencast.com/t/lFUFFkfTC.) 

Below are excerpts from the Yavapai Community College Governing Board November 2022 adopted concept Five Year Plan:

 

Categories : Career and Technical Education

YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE FIVE YEAR MASTER PLAN INCLUDES CONCEPT OF $9.25 MILLION STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT ON THE VERDE CAMPUS

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, December 14th, 2022

Housing of up to 60 beds will provide student access to unique destination programs offered at the Campus

The Yavapai Community College Governing Board 4-1 approved in concept creation of a small student residence facility of up to 60 beds on the Verde Campus at its November Board meeting.  The initial estimated cost for the facility was put at $9.25 million. 

Actual approval for the housing project must come when the Governing Board meets in May 2023 and approves its budget. The plan does not include housing for faculty.

 If approved, it is believed the Community College executives will use revenue bonds to pay for its construction.  These are bonds that are issued upon approval of the Governing Board and do not use taxpayer funds for repayment.  Rather, income derived from a variety of sources generated by the Community College are used for such projects.

It is believed that that the current residence halls on the Prescott Campus pay for themselves.  In other words, they are not subsidized by County taxpayers. No doubt, Prescott based executives hope that the Verde facility will likewise pay for itself.

Following below are excerpts from the Master Plan approved in concept by the Governing Board:

 

 

Categories : Verde campus events

COUNTY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT SWEARS IN MCCASLAND AND BRACETY TO YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD ON DECEMBER 5

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, December 11th, 2022

Current Chair McCasland will serve six years; new member Bracety will complete final four year term of Mitch Padilla

Yavapai County School Superintendent Mr. Tim Carter swore in Ms. Deb McCasland and Mr. Steve Bracety on December 5 to the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board. McCasland, the current chair of the Governing Board, ran unopposed in the November general election and will serve through 2028.  Bracety was appointed by County School Superintendent Tim Carter after Mitch Padilla stepped down to assume the position to which he was elected in November of Justice of the Peace for the Prescott precinct.  Bracety begins his term on the Board January 1, 2023, and will serve through 2026.

In a December 5 Community College news release by Tyler Rumsey, Barcety is quoted as saying that “it is an honor to be appointed to represent District 5 on the Yavapai College District Governing Board. I believe strongly in the value of higher education and have a passion for public service and Yavapai County. Yavapai College is critical for our communities growth, and I look forward to serving on its Governing Board.”

Ms. McCasland was quoted in the same news release as saying  that “the addition of Steve Bracety to our Board will be great for our residents throughout the county. He is well known in the community and has a strong public service and business background that will benefit our Board. I’d also like to thank Mitch Padilla for his service on the Board over the last two years, where his passion for the College and the success of our students was always evident.”

For additional detailed background information about Mr. Bracety, please click the December 1 Blog posting here.  

Categories : GOVERNING BOARD

COLLEGE SPENDS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS ON SPECULATIVE 3D CEMENT PRINTER AND THREE NEW ATHLETIC PROGRAMS BUT CANNOT BRING ITSELF TO EVEN EXPLORE POSSIBILITY OF FREE ELECTRICAL VEHICLE TRAINING PROGRAM WITH SEDONA

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, December 10th, 2022

College continues historic rigidity when it comes to locating advanced programs in the Verde Valley; some fear that sophisticated Community College career and technical training opportunities  will be lost to the Verde Valley without local control over decision making and budgets

Editor Robert Oliphant

OPINION. The revelation by the newly elected mayor of Sedona, Scott Jablo, at the November District Governing Board meeting  that Yavapai Community College has shown no interest when offered an opportunity  to explore a sophisticated EV training program at no cost is consistent with the historic treatment of the east side of the County by the west side.  Ask anyone, for example, who knows about the collapse of the ambitious east county CTE project back in 2005-2006 and the scramble on the west side to find a CTE campus to house diesel engine training.

When making the College’s reaction to the recent offer by Sedona known to the Governing Board, Jablo explained that Sedona is transitioning to an all-electric bus transportation fleet and will be constructing a maintenance and repair facility to house the vehicles.  He said that the City was prepared to offer space to the Community College free of charge along with an opportunity to train alongside its staff of EV technicians.

Jablo said the offer of the training facility space was made a year or so ago.  Since then, there has been silence in response from the Community College.

By comparison, on the west side of the County,  the College readily found almost a half million dollars  in its budget back in 2000 to purchase a huge 3D cement printer in an effort to create a highly sophisticated construction training program over there. Turns out that after the huge printer was received, it had to be rebuilt at a cost the College refuses to divulge.  Worse, the College has  yet to demonstrate that it understands how to use the sophisticated 3D cement construction printer to  build anything.

Also, by comparison, on the west side of the County, the Community College executives in the last couple of years decided to add three more teams (more coaches, support staff, scholarships) to its growing list of sports programs. This has increased the annual budget by hundreds of  thousands of dollars and in part is responsible for the College asking for a tax rate increase in 2023.  

The sports program services almost exclusively the west side where virtually all matches and games are held and all baseball, softball and soccer fields are located.  (The west side also has the only major sized gymnasium where its volleyball team plays its matches, with rare exception.) The west siders are breathlessly waiting to transform at a cost of hundreds of thousands the current soccer practice field into a field where matches will be held. 

However, when it comes to the east side of the County, and the possibility of an advanced EV  technical education training opportunity such as that proposed by the Sedona mayor, the west side executives have shown no interest in exploring such a venture. 

There is little east side residents can do about decisions (or the absence of decisions) like this because control of the Yavapai Community College rests entirely in the hands of persons living in Prescott with what appears to be an obvious Prescott preference for seizing advanced CTE training programs and locating them over there.  Until the local east County Community College Verde Campus and Sedona Center are run by local residents, and decision making for the future development is theirs alone, such conduct will continue well into the future.

So, a great opportunity is apparently lost. But watch where EV training will emerge.  It won’t be on the east side of the County.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Editorials/Essays

COLLEGE SHOWS NO INTEREST IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CITY OF SEDONA TO TRAIN EV MECHANICS

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, December 8th, 2022

Newly elected Mayor outlines partnership where City will pay for construction of new EV facility, all costs associated with operating it; provide College space to train students on repairing EV buses; so far, College indicates no interest in offer

Sedona Mayor Elect Scott Jablow

The new incoming Mayor of Sedona, Scott Jablow, offered a superb educational opportunity for Yavapai College when speaking to  the College’s  Governing Board at its November meeting. Jablow told the Board that Sedona was embarking on plans to create an all-electric vehicle (EV) transportation fleet of buses (and possibly other city vehicles). He explained that the City as a part of its EV program intends to build a maintenance facility for the EVs, staff it with technicians, and pay all associated operating costs.

In a stunning revelation, he said a year ago he had proposed to the Chair of the Board that the city of Sedona  would provide space where Yavapai Community College students could train on repairing EVs in its EV facility.  The only cost to the College would be to provide a curriculum and a teacher for the program.

Despite the generous offer by the City, the Mayor reported that the College has shown absolutely no interest in such a partnership. “None.” 

It seems like history, at least to a certain extent, is repeating itself when it comes to advanced CTE programs in the Verde Valley.

Recall that back in 2005-2006, Phelps-Dodge  (later Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold), a Phoenix-based global mining company, let Community College executives know that it was looking for a place that would train students in diesel, industrial and electrical mechanics. It suggested that it would financially support the creation of a two-year College apprenticeship program and would help build classrooms and pay faculty salaries for the first three years of the program if the College initiated such a program.

The Prescott based College executives leaped at the offer and immediately began searching for a west Yavapai County facility to purchase. At the time the Prescott-based executives had the option of putting the diesel training facility on the Verde Valley Campus as a part of the newly created CTE program, which it called the Northern Arizona Regional Skills Center.

Rather than begin a new and exciting program on the Verde Campus as a part of its CTE development, the Governing Board authorized purchase of a 108,000 square foot building at a cost of five million dollars, located at the Prescott airport, to house the diesel project. Once the purchase was complete, it began renovating the facility with an initial investment of $750,000. The building is now called the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) and houses the diesel training program.

The decision to develop a diesel training program at the CTE campus at the Prescott airport marked  the death knell for the  Career and Technical Education program just started on the Verde Campus. The idea of seriously pushing the development of a major northern Arizona CTE Center on the Verde Campus soon evaporated. 

Now, years later, Sedona is offering the east side of the County an opportunity to train technicians to repair EV engines with little cost to the College.  It would be training students for the present and future. However, the west side executives, who control all major decisions on the east side of the County, are simply looking the other way. It’s what happens when local residents cannot control local programs at a local community college.

From the west side’s reaction, it’s fairly easy to see where EV training will go in the future. Only to Prescott’s CTE training facility.

You may view all of Mayor-elect Scott Jablow’s short presentation to the November Governing Board by clicking here. Note the first part of his speech has to do with the Brewery program being proposed for the Verde Campus.

Categories : Career and Technical Education

MANY SEDONA VOTERS INDICATE $10 MILLION BEER BREWERY PROJECT ON VERDE CAMPUS MAY BE WRONG DIRECTION FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE SUGGESTING IT IS UNNECESSARY AND A WASTE OF MONEY

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

Jobs in brewery industry on east side of County are few and low paying; focus should be on training for  well-paid high tech CTE jobs

Sedona Mayor elect Scott Jablow

During his successful run in November for Sedona Mayor, current Vice Mayor Scott Jablow talked with prospective voters about Yavapai Community College.  According to his brief report at the November 2022 College Governing Board meeting, many Sedona  voters expressed little if any interest in seeing the College expend millions of dollars on a brewery on the east side of the County.

Jablow said that “many of the people” he spoke to “were concerned about” what the Governing Board and College were doing “with the taxpayer money from the Yavapai side of Sedona.”  According to him, they told him that “a brewery was not necessary for our region.  That the money being spent — $10 million dollars – is unheard of when we don’t have the need from any of our brewers . . ..”  (See video clip for complete statement.)  “They feel it is a waste of money,” he said.

The preference among voters with whom he spoke was for more training in hi-tech Career and Technical Education jobs.

You may view his brief report to the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board on video  by clicking here.

Categories : Career and Technical Education

HIGHER LEARNING COMMISSION HAS GRANTED MARICOPA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT ACCREDITATION FOR SEVEN BACHELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAMS

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, December 3rd, 2022

Legislation allowing community colleges to start offering four-year degrees was approved in a bill signed by the Governor last year

The Higher Learning Commission has granted Maricopa County Community College District accreditation for seven bachelor’s degree programs.  This is a result of legislation signed last year that allows community colleges to begin offering four year degrees.

The newly accredited degrees and the campuses in the Maricopa Community College District offering them are:

  • Data analytics and programming, Bachelor of Applied Science, Mesa.

  • Information technology, Bachelor of Applied Science, Phoenix.

  • Nuclear medicine technology and computed tomography, Bachelor of Applied Science, GateWay.

  • Public safety administration, Bachelor of Applied Science, Phoenix and Rio Salado.

  • Early childhood education – dual language, Bachelor of Arts, Mesa.

  • Elementary education and special education, Bachelor of Arts, Glendale, Paradise Valley and Rio Salado.

  • Behavioral sciences, Bachelor of Arts, South Mountain.

Categories : CURRICULUM

STEPHEN L. BRACETY APPOINTED TO YAVAPAI COLLEGE DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, December 1st, 2022

Bracety will represent Yavapai County District 5 for the remaining four years of the term of outgoing Board member Mitch Padilla  from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2026

Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter has announced the appointment of Mr. Stephen L. Bracety to the Yavapai College Governing Board to represent Yavapai County District 5. Mr. Bracety will complete the remaining four years of Mr. Mitch Padilla’s term on the Governing Board.  Mr. Padilla resigned after he was elected to serve as Justice of the Peace, Prescott Precinct, beginning in January 2023.

Mr. Bracety will be sworn in at a public event at Yavapai College at 9:00 am on Monday, December 5, 2022.

Bracety was selected from three candidates forwarded to Superintendent Carter by a Candidate Review Committee who found all of the applicants qualified for the position. The other two candidates were Mr. Joseph Butner and Mr. Michael Ellegood.  The candidate review committee consisted of the following:

Mrs. Mary Mallory, an elected official, who represents this same geographic district as the Chair of the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors. Mr. Chris Tenney, representing the faculty and staff, who is a Yavapai College Professor of Instrumental Music. Mr. Richard Hernandez, representing economic development and business interest, as the Director of the Regional Economic Development Center. Mr. Jacob Todd, representing students, who is studying medical science at Yavapai College. Mr. Matt Zurcher, representing taxpayers, as a realtor, a construction coordinator for Sparklight, and a member of the Central Yavapai Fire Board.

In announcing the selection, Superintendent Carter outlined Mr. Bracety’s background and many accomplishments. He wrote:

Mr. Bracety is well known in the community and has resided here for eighteen (18) years. He has held many positions within the hospitality industry, including service as the General Manager of the Prescott Resort and Conference Center. He is currently the Vice President of Operations and Talent Management with the Grace Hospitality Group.

Mr. Bracety holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Buffalo State College and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Mr. Bracety is married, and the couple have a daughter that is a junior at Northern Arizona University.

He has served as the President of the Prescott Frontier Rotary, was named the 2014 Man of the Year by Prescott Area Leadership, has served as the Board Chair of the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce. He was formerly on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Yavapai County Big Brothers and Big Sisters, is the Past President of the Prescott Fine Arts Association, and Past Board Chair of the Arizona Community Foundation. Mr. Bracety was the Founder of the City of Prescott Tourism Advisory Committee.

He has been working with various non-profits for many years on joint educational projects. An example was a recent early childhood literacy initiative, which had tremendous success, under the leadership of the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County, which partnered with community stakeholders for financial support and was operated by the Yavapai County Education Service Agency (YCESA).

District 5 includes the following areas:

Aerie Townhouses        Camp Pinerock  Glassford Hill

Antelope Meadows         Camp Wamatochick        Golden Condos

Big Bug Creek Area          Castle Canyon    Granite Dells

Big Sky  Coyote Springs  Granville

Bradshaw Pines Camp    Creekside of Prescott      Groom Creek

Breezy Pine         Dana Condominiums      Hidden Valley

Camp Maripai    Diamond Valley Highlands Center

Jasper   Prescott Reamended      Preston Condominiums

Kamp Kipa          Prescott Valley  Pronghorn Ranch

Leigh Condos     Prescott Valley Santa Fe Quad Villas

Loba Estates       Prescott Valley Superstition Addition      Ranch at Prescott

Loma Estates      Prescott Valley Unit 1     Roundup Condos

Lynx Creek          Prescott Valley Unit 10   SkyYCamp

Lynx Lake             Prescott Valley Unit 11   Small Tracts

Lynx Mountain View       Prescott Valley Unit 12   Spruce Mountain Club

Millsite Village   Prescott Valley Unit 13   Stevens Condominiums

Mingus View      Prescott Valley Unit 14   Stoneridge

Mountain Glen  Prescott Valley Unit 15   Storm Ranch

Mountain Pine   Prescott Valley Unit 16   Tapestry at Granville Apartments

Mountain Shadows         Prescott Valley Unit 17   The Ranch

Navajo Commons             Prescott Valley Unit 18   The Viewpoint

Noah Berry          Prescott Valley Unit 19   Upper Groom

Nugget Patch     Prescott Valley Unit 2     Upper Little Copper Creek

Oak Knoll             Prescott Valley Unit 20   Victorian Estates

Parbac Condominium     Prescott Valley Unit 24   Viewpoint

Patterdell Pines Prescott Valley Unit 3     Walker

Pine Creek Area Prescott Valley Unit 4     Walker Final

Pine Hills              Prescott Valley Unit 5     Webfoot Subdivision

Pinehurst Estates             Prescott Valley Unit 6     Western Mesa

Poquito Valley   Prescott Valley Unit 7     Whispering Pines Camp

Potato Patch      Prescott Valley Unit 8     Yavapai Hills

Prescott Commerce         Prescott Valley Unit 9     Zone 12

Prescott East      Prescott Pines Camp

Categories : GOVERNING BOARD

FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF THE VALLEY ACADEMY FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION (VACTE) LOIS LAMER SENTENCED IN MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS CASE

By R. Oliphant
Tuesday, November 29th, 2022

Must pay restitution of $7,500 (jointly with co-conspirator),  fined $2,000, and must complete 100 hours of community service, for misusing grant funds

Lois Lamer in happier days.

In an announcement Monday, November 28 by the Arizona Attorney General’s office, the former superintendent of the Valley Academy for Career and Technical Education (VACTE), which is located in Cottonwood, was sentenced after pleading guilty to Class 6 felony charges related to  the misuse of public funds. Dennis Fiscus, who was involved in the scheme with Lamer,  received an identical sentence.

Dennis Fiscus is the former programs of study director for the Department of Career and Technical Education. Lamer and Fiscus were accused of submitting falsified documents related to certain purchase orders as well as misusing funds in September 2021.

The Attorney General’s Office reported that the pair will have to pay restitution of $7,500 together, were each fined $2,000 and will each have to complete 100 hours of community service.

The case was investigated by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office and prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Fraud and Special Prosecution’s Section. The investigation determined that Lamer  and Fiscus  had allegedly conspired to divert for personal use thousands of dollars in federal Carl D. Perkins grant money that had been awarded to VACTE.

BLOG STORIES ON THIS CASE: 

See Blog posting of November 15, 2019 “AUDITORS FIND QUESTIONABLE COSTS AT VACTE TOTALING $638,716.” https://www.eyeonyavapaicollege.com/vacte/auditors-find-questionable-costs-at-vacte-totaling-638716/
See Blog posting of September 30, 2021 “FORMER VACTE SUPERINTENDENT INDICTED ON VARIETY OF FRAUD CHARGES INVOLVING MISUSE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDS. Follows former business manager Celestia Ziemkowski’s guilty pleas to felonies  in  2020 involving embezzling VACTE money for personal use.”  https://www.eyeonyavapaicollege.com/yavapai-community-college/former-vacte-superintendent-indicted-on-variety-of-fraud-charges-involving-misuse-of-school-district-funds/
Categories : VACTE

DR. BARBARA DURHAM NAMED DIRECTOR OF NURSING AT YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE

By R. Oliphant
Friday, November 25th, 2022

Prescott based Director brings 30 years of nursing experience to the program along with extensive experience as a community college instructor

Yavapai Community College announced in a November 21 press release that  Dr. Barbara Durham was selected as Director of Nursing.  Dr. Durham is Prescott based and has been an employee of the Community College since 2017 when she moved from Hartnell community college in Salinas, California where she had taught for 12 years.

Dr. Durham holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of San Francisco, a Master of Science in Nursing Practice from California State University Dominguez Hills  and a Bachelor of Science in  Nursing Practice from the University of Windsor (1987 – 1991).

While on the nursing faculty at Hartnell College (2005 – Jan 2017) she taught advanced adult med/surg concepts, and geriatric content in nursing theory. She has authored one article, which was written in 2013 entitled, “Medication Safety: The Role of the Nurse.”  (See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25785398/ for appropriate cite.)

The press release from  Yavapai Community College, written by Tyler Rumsey, appears below.

TYLER RUMSEY 21 NOVEMBER 2022

Dr. Durham has been with Yavapai College since 2017 as a nursing faculty member and has worked in academia since 2005.

Her nursing career spans more than 30 years, from working with diverse patients and students at the bedside as a critical care nurse and clinical educator to her faculty role teaching in Associate Degree Nursing Programs.

“I am extremely excited to have Dr. Durham as the Director of Nursing at YC,” said Dr. Marylou Mercado, Dean of Health Sciences, Science, Math, ABE, Health, and Wellness. “She is passionate about high-quality nursing education, student success, and patient safety, and her impact on student training will be felt immensely in our communities.”

As Director of Nursing, Dr. Durham will oversee the nursing program at Yavapai College and will advocate for students and faculty. She will also assist Dr. Mercado in moving the nursing program toward seeking approval to offer an RN-BSN degree and work with Yavapai County community healthcare partners in advancing nursing education that benefits county residents.

The Yavapai College Nursing Program has a history of excellence in nursing education. The NLCEX pass rate for 2021 AT YC was 96.05% exceeding the 2021 National NCLEX pass rate of 82.4%. The job Placement rate for 2021 YC graduates was 94%.

Dr. Durham grew up in Ontario, Canada, and moved to California in 1992 after graduating with honors from the University of Windsor, in Ontario, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She completed her Master of Science Degree in Nursing Education from CSU Dominguez Hills in 2005 and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice with an emphasis in Healthcare Systems Leadership from the University of San Francisco in 2014. Barbara enjoys golfing, hiking, and playing pickleball in her free time.

Categories : Nursing
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